The Queen's Diaries
by You're Still in Poems
Summary: The story of Clarisse Renaldi and the events leading up to her marraige to Joseph at the end of The Princess Diaries 2.
1. Prologue

Hello all.  
I published this story on 11-29-04, and haven't updated it since 07-07-07. I recently came upon it again, re-read it, and decided it was time to update. When I was looking it over, found myself wanting to change things. Not big things, but the best way to do this was to replace all the old chapters. So here it is, brand new and shiny. Thank you so much for reading it! If you have been with this story for a while, thanks for not giving up on me. I hope you enjoy it, and let's hope I can finish it soon.

Love,  
You're_Still_in_Poems

* * *

I own nothing but my mind.

* * *

The Queens Diaries

Prologue:

Nineteen-year-old Clarisse Gerard looked down the aisle at her husband-to-be Prince Rupert Renaldi. She thought how not only was she getting married to the heir to the throne of Genovia, but she was also beginning a new chapter in her life. Taught to always put her country before herself, she was the perfect candidate for the wife to the prince. Clarisse loved Genovia and would do anything for her country. In marrying Rupert she was making the biggest self-sacrifice. She found, much to her dismay, that while she and Rupert had become fast friends, love had not blossomed. She hoped that that would change and after a few years of marriage she would have the happily-ever-after fairytale-ending marriage princesses were supposed to have. She knew that she would be expected to submit to her husband, and stay a step behind him while in the public eye. She would have to care for the citizens of her country and treat each with the proper respect. It was demanded of her that she produce the future king's heir so that they may assume the throne and keep the Royal Family's bloodline going. She had the weight of the welfare of her beloved country on her shoulders.

In the following years Clarisse gave birth to her first child, who became known as Pierre. She was overwhelmed with joy and loved spending time with him. Unfortunately, the birth of their first child did not jump-start the spark between Clarisse and Rupert. Rupert's father, the current reigning monarch, had not been well for the past years and decided it was time to step down and his son was crowned. Two years later their second son, called Philippe was welcomed into their family. Motherhood was everything she could have ever wanted, and it strengthened Clarisse's companionship with Rupert. Still, deep love was not present. Clarisse began to believe that something was clearly wrong with her for not loving the father of her children the way she thought she was supposed to.

When she was thirty-seven Clarisse's bodyguard decided that it was time to retire. She was introduced to a man who introduced himself as simply "Joseph." At first he seemed very full of himself and Clarisse tended to stay away from talking with him. One night when Rupert and the boys were out on a on their annual father-and-sons weekend Clarisse ventured down to the kitchens. She found Joseph sitting at the table, staring into a mug. After making herself a cup of tea she sat with him and the two began to talk. Under his seemingly cocky exterior was a sensitive and caring man, devoted to his job and to his queen. Joseph and Clarisse soon formed a strong bond of friendship, and felt comfortable with each other, talking about everything and anything they felt. For the first time in her life, she felt that she had a true friend.

It was at this time that Clarisse's eldest son, who had just turned sixteen, was beginning to realize that his life calling was not to be king. He confided in his mother and father one night at dinner. Rupert did not understand why his son did not want to be king of Genovia; Clarisse on the other hand, sat quietly and then concluded that he could to whatever he wanted and she would always support his decision. Afterwards Philippe turned to his mother and declared that he most definitely wanted to be king.

Eight years later all hell began to break lose when Philippe was in his senior of college in America. It was also at this time that Pierre was finishing his training to become a priest, which he knew was his calling. No more than six months later, a phone call from Philippe came in from the states, and he informed his mother and father that they were going to be grandparents. They were shocked and outraged at Philippe for shaming the Renaldi name and the image projected into the public eye. To add to the horror, he announced that he had eloped with the woman (Helen was her name) and they were married. Clarisse was filled with many conflicting and confusing emotions, and everything seemed to be rushing past her in a blur, and the only person who stopped to comfort her was Joseph.

After the birth of a baby girl named Amelia, Philippe and his bride flew to Genovia to meet the family and begin their life together. Clarisse thought that though the girl seemed to be very charming and sweet, she was not right to be a future queen. The tension between the two was palpable and despite their desire to be away from each other, at Rupert's urging, Clarisse began princess lessons with Helen. Helen had a hard time composing her free spirit and submitting to the expectations of a crown. Her very tiny daughter also frequently distracted her.

Even though they were not keen to admit it, Amelia captivated Clarisse and Rupert. She was so small and perfect and stole their hearts. The opportunity to play the role of grandparents was scant, as Helen was not comfortable with them. Two months later, Philippe and Helen made their first public appearance at their engagement party. The night was a disaster and saw a huge row between the couple. She was clearly terrified of this world, and the only way she knew how to cope was to get out of it as fast as she could.

At a meeting between the family the next morning, heartache ensued. Philippe didn't want to part from his fiancée or daughter, and neither did Helen. It was clear that the two were in love, but from such vastly different worlds that they would never work. After many tears and personal sacrifices, it was decided that Helen would return to America, and the engagement would be called off. The Renaldi family would stay away so that the girl could have a simple, carefree life. So Philippe remained at home, while Helen and Amelia returned to America.

While Amelia, who Philippe and Helen called Mia, grew up she received a birthday and Christmas present from her father, and later pay for her private school. The Head of Security soon retired and left Joseph with his position. In the meantime, Rupert's health was beginning to decline. Clarisse was given the power to help her husband rule the country.

One night, Rupert who complained of chest pains, woke Clarisse. In a very short time paramedics arrived. Joseph told Clarisse that he was to escort her and her son to the hospital. After a few hours of sitting in the Emergency Room, the king was pronounced dead. Clarisse was shocked and numbed by the sudden loss of her best friend and husband. She was thankful for the support of her sons and the companionship of Joseph.

Ten months later, tragedy struck again when a fatal car accident claimed the life of a bodyguard, a driver and her youngest son. Joseph had been the bearer of bad news and Clarisse collapsed into body-wracking sobs. Joseph held her tightly on that stormy night. She was not sure how long she had cried, or how long he held her in silence, but she was grateful for it.

It was clear to the people of Genovia that their Queen would probably never be the same. They believed that the death of the King, now her son's would be the end of her. It was apparent at the funeral that it would take a long time for the wounds to heal. She had lost a child and with it her will to live.

Clarisse began to think that Pierre would have to leave the church and take the throne. When he refused, all hope seemed lost. The Renaldi reign would come to an end after almost 550 years of ruling. Then, with a glimmer of hope, her long-ignored granddaughter in California was remembered. A phone call was made to her house and Clarisse explained that there was no other hope for their family unless Amelia would take the throne. Upset that her daughter was just about to turn sixteen, Helen reluctantly agreed that it was time to tell the truth.

Two days later Mia Thermopolis headed to school where she would be sat on, laughed at, and finally vomit in public. Little did she know as she met her friend Lilly -and nearly got run over by a motorcade and limo- that her future was about to be told to her by the woman who sat inside, anxiously waiting to meet her granddaughter and reveal to her drastic life-changing news.


	2. Chapter One

Clarisse felt a bit sick when she woke up the day of the flight to America. She was not looking forward to the jetlag or her impending meeting with her granddaughter. She lay in bed wondering what Amelia would be like now. Was she intelligent? Was she kind? Was she pretty? Does she have a sense of humor? Does she look like her father? _Does she look like her father?_ Clarisse replayed it in her head.

_Oh God_, she thought, _what if she looks like Philippe? What will I do?_ It had been just a little over two months since her son's death and the thought of him still caused her great pain. The possiility of her looking like him had never crossed her mind before.

Suddenly a small white poodle came bounding into her room and interrupted her thoughts. She smiled as he rolled around on her bed. Maurice; her beloved dog that Pierre and Philippe bought for her just a few months earlier. She looked at the clock. She had been awake for a little over a half hour just laying in bed. She needed to get up and prepare for her flight. Maurice looked at her and licked her hand making her smile.

"Come on, Maurice. Time to get up." She got out of bed and looked out the window. She would have to leave Genovia for a while to get her granddaughter to agree to take the throne. She was not looking forward to it.

Clarisse got washed, dressed, and checked to make sure she had everything she needed for her trip.

"Olivia?" She called to one of her maids, "Will you take Maurice out for a walk, please?" The dog cocked his head at the word 'walk' and began to wag his tail excitedly.

The girl was new and young, but was learning quickly and had fantastic recommendation. "Yes, ma'am." she answered with a curtsy as she took Maurice's leash and led him to the door. Clarisse walked out to the sitting room with one of her suitcases and sat down on the sofa. She was very apprehensive about going on this trip. She hoped it wasn't obvious to everyone around her.

A knock on the door snapped her to attention. "Come in." The door opened to reveal a tall man in black leather. "Hello, Joseph."

"Your Majesty I'm here to take your suitcases down to the car. Are they all ready?"

"Yes. I just checked to make sure I had everything. They're on my bed." She pointed to the entrance to her room.

"Oh, only five this time?" Joseph called from her room.

"Yes. I thought I would travel lightly." She smiled, checking the items in her purse. She picked up a jeweled box from her desk.

"What is that?" Joseph asked as he set the last of her luggage down in the sitting room.

"It's a present for Amelia. Do you think it's alright that I give her something?"

"I think she'll love that." He handed two of the suitcases to the door guard, and picked up the other two, "Are you ready to go to the car?"

"Yes I am." She slipped the box into her purse and pulled up the handle of the last suitcase. "More ready than I'll ever be."

...

Clarisse sighed as the plane took off down the runway. It had begun to rain as she boarded. If there was one thing to be grateful for, she'd be leaving the rain. Looking across the isle she saw Joseph looking out the window. She wondered what he was thinking about.

"Joseph?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Would you come sit with me?"

"Of course." He unbuckled his seatbelt and walked over to the seat next to Clarisse's. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm… a little nervous about this trip and I was hoping I could just talk to you. Is that OK?"

"It's fine. I'd love to sit and talk." Clarisse smiled.

Something had changed about their relationship after Philippe died. A closeness if you will -more so than they had in previous years. Whenever she saw him she felt a warmth in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't quite sure what to call it.

Joseph and Clarisse talked for a few hours then ate lunch together. Clarisse could not recall feeling this light-hearted in months. She had always felt that she could tell Joseph anything and not be embarrassed. After they had eaten, Clarisse and Joseph sat in silence, simply enjoying having a friend to talk to.

Clarisse assumed that she must have fallen asleep, because she awoke and Joseph was next to her, out cold. She looked at her watch; they should be arriving in California shortly. Gently, she reached over and shook Joseph awake. She laughed to herself as he swatted her hand away.

_It's probably not a good thing that my Head of Security does not wake easily_. She thought. One more shake and he was up.

"You are just as hard to get up as my sons were." Joseph blushed and rubbed his eye. "I suspect we are very near San Francisco."

"I would think so. Let me go talk to the pilot." He got up and walked to the cockpit. Clarisse looked out the window at the landscape of California. She had never been to San Francisco and she had to admit that although she loved Genovia, California was extremely pretty.

Joseph returned a few moments later. "Your Majesty, we are about five minutes from the airport."

"Well, that was not a bad flight, was it?"

"Not at all. Especially because I had such good company." He gave her a smile and returned to his seat.

...

Clarisse walked down the stairs of the plane and was met by a chauffer from the Genovian Consulate.

"Welcome to San Francisco, Your Majesty." He said as he opened the limousine door.

"Thank you." She got into the car and sighed as the door closed. She suspected that she would suffer from very bad jet lag if she did not get rest soon.

...

Clarisse stared out the window, taking in the sights of San Francisco on her way to the consulate. She was amazed at the massive hills in the city. Two girls on motor scooters crossed the street in front of the motorcade.

_They had better be more wary when they cross in front of cars_. She wondered silently if those girls went to school with her granddaughter.

...

The car arrived at the consulate twenty minutes later and a young lady with a cell phone and an electronic organizer met Clarisse.

"Hello. Welcome to California, Your Majesty." She said with a curtsey. "I'm Charlotte, with the Genovian Attaché Corps. I will be your assistant during your stay here."

"It's very nice to meet you, Charlotte."

"I assume you are tired from your flight. Would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Oh, that would be lovely. Thank you."

"If you will follow me, please." Charlotte ushered Clarisse into the entrance of the consulate. Two attendants snapped to attention as she walked past them.

"Good morning." Clarisse said with a polite nod, allowing them to return to their duties.

"Is this your first time in San Francisco, Your Majesty?" Charlotte asked as they climbed the staircase.

"Yes it is."

"This will be your room while you are here." Charlotte opened the door and allowed Clarisse to enter. "I hope everything is alright."

"It's perfect." Clarisse replied as she glanced around the room.

"Will you be needing anything else, ma'am?"

"Some tea would be very much appreciated, Charlotte." Clarisse smiled at the woman.

"I'll have someone up with your tea right away. If you should need anything just ask."

"Thank you." Charlotte exited with a quick curtsey.

Clarisse walked around the room, carefully inspecting little designs on the side of the sofa and coffee table. She walked over to the window and looked out. To her horror, she found that the garden was a complete mess.

"That will need to be taken care of." She concluded to herself.

...

Ten minutes later, a maid appeared with a tray carrying Clarisse's tea.

Finally able to relax and stretch out, Clarisse enjoyed her rare morning off. She soon surrendered to sleep, deciding that her tired body needed to rest before the turmoil that she believed was ahead of her the next day.


	3. Chapter Two

A soft knock on Clarisse's door brought her out of her sleep. She quickly straightened herself out.

"Come in." Joseph opened the door and walked into her room.

"You slept for quite a long time. Are you feeling better?" He asked kindly.

"Yes. I am feeling much better. What time is it, anyway?" She pushed back her sleeve and looked at her watch.

"It is twelve-forty. You have been asleep for almost five hours. I thought it would be best to wake you so that you would be able to sleep tonight. Would you like some lunch?"

"Not just yet, Joseph. I think I'm going to look around a bit. Would you care to join me?"

"Unfortunately, madam, I have some work to get done."

"That's alright." She smiled at him and nodded as he left her doorway. Clarisse looked herself over in the mirror before heading downstairs to try and familiarize herself with her surroundings. She walked into the office and found Charlotte placing a vase of roses on a small table.

"Oh, Your Majesty." She said as she curtsied, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Er…" She thought whether or not she needed to do anything. "Yes, actually. Will you find me the phone number to Amelia's house?"

"Of course I have it right… here." With a few clicks of a pen on the touch screen of her organizer she had the needed number.

Clarisse was a little nervous when she heard the ringing of the phone, and took a deep breath as Helen answered.

_"Hello?"_

"Hello. Helen?"

_"Yes. This is she? Who, may I ask is calling?"_

"This is Clarisse Renaldi." The silence on the other end of the phone made Clarisse think that Helen was not too thrilled that she was calling.

_"Oh. Have you arrived in California already?" _Clarisse noticed that her tone had changed a bit.

"Yes I have. Earlier today."

_"U-huh. You had a safe flight?"_

"Yes I did." She really did not want a long drawn out conversation right now, and she could tell that Helen didn't either. "Listen, Helen, I was hoping if Amelia was not busy tomorrow that she could come to the consulate for tea."

_"She is not doing anything tomorrow."_

"Good. After school, then?"

_"Sure. I'll have her come over after school tomorrow. Are you going to tell her everything there, or wait a whil_e?"

"I figure that I shall tell her everything tomorrow, so that she can have the entire length of time before the ball to think about it."

_"The Independence Day Ball?"_

"Yes it's in a few weeks. I can introduce her to the public then."

Helen sighed. _"Alright. That will be… great._" She was not very enthusiastic.

"I'll have my assistant give you the address for Amelia." She handed the receiver to Charlotte who introduced herself and gave all the information needed for Amelia to find the consulate. Clarisse sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. Helen was apparently not very fond of her. Although she didn't like that, she couldn't really blame her. Helen, although aware of the consequences of her actions, had not asked to fall in love with the heir to the throne of Genovia. She was not entirely to blame; Philippe was just as responsible for that 'accident' as Rupert had said when he was scolding his son.

"The Princess will be here at three o'clock, ma'am." Charlotte went to check on something in the kitchens, leaving Clarisse with her thoughts once more. Her mind was racing with the events of sixteen years prior, the phone call from Philippe, helping Helen with Princess Lessons, the night she left, and the mess that stayed behind.

* * *

"Why should I go see this snobby lady who ignores us?" Mia asked her mother crossly as they climbed the rock wall at her work.

"Mia, she's your fathers mother. Just go talk to her." Helen did not blame her daughter for not wanting to visit her grandmother. It was a rather unexpected visit. Unfortunately, Mia did not know the true reason, and Helens felt it was not her place to tell. "She said you father hoped you two would meet someday."

Mia thought hard for a minute and then decided if her father wanted them to meet, than she should honor one of the few things he ever asked her to do. "Alright. I'll go."

* * *

"Your Majesty." Clarisse was pulled back to reality as she saw Joseph standing in front of her desk. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm sorry, Joseph, I was just thinking about some things. Have I kept you waiting?"

"No." He looked out the window behind her and gestured, "Have you seen the state of the garden?"

"Yes. It's horrendous!" She exclaimed. "Something will need to be done about it before the ball."

"You are just the right person for that."

"Thank you." There was a moment where the pair sat in silence, not knowing exactly what to say next.

"What kind of things were you thinking of, ma'am?" Joseph asked quetly.

"Well." She began.

"Me?" He teased.

"If that's what you want to believe." He was the only person who she trusted enough to allow this kind of play. If anyone else had asked, she would have been upset at the invasion of privacy. But she knew that Joseph was only trying to get her to smile, not to tell him her secrets.

"I was actually thinking of Philippe. The night he told me that he married Helen and she was pregnant." She grew a bit more solemn after speaking of her son. "And all the events that followed." She sighed quietly and wrung her hands together.

Joseph understood that she still found it hard to speak about Philippe, but he suspected that she was moving towards healing if she mentioned his name aloud.

Clarisse stood up and walked over to Joseph. "I wanted to thank you for all the help and support you have given me for the past two months, Joseph." She placed a hand on his cheek. "It really helps."

Joseph smiled. "It was my pleasure." He covered her hand with his and Clarisse felt a tingling at the sensation of his hand on hers. There it was again, the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. She pulled her hand away from his face and the feeling vanished. She pondered it later that evening while she was eating supper. She took a bath after and felt all the tense muscles in her shoulders relax. After climbing into bed and turning off the light, she that sleep came easily for the first time in a very long time.

* * *

Helen made Mia a snack when they got back from the climbing gym. Her daughter had a very long day, and she believed she deserved a rest.

"I still can't believe I threw up, mom. I made a complete fool of myself."

"It could have been worse."

"Yeah? How?" She asked.

"Well…" Helen thought for a moment, "OK, it was pretty bad."

"You know; this isn't making me feel any better."

"Tomorrow's a new day. It'll be OK."

Mia was fairly skeptical that it would be OK, though. She had always been made fun of ever since Kindergarten, when she was introduced to Lana. They had instantly disliked each other, but always seemed to be pared up together for various group projects, or classes. Lana enjoyed publicly ridiculing Mia, and more recently showing off her boyfriend that she knew Mia liked.

...

When Mia had finished her homework and was readying herself for bed, her mother came into her room.

"This is the address where Clarisse is staying." She said as she handed Mia the slip of paper. "She wants you there directly from school, so no dawdling with friends, OK?"

"Sure."

"It's going to be fine, Mia. You'll see. From what I remember she was… fairly nice."

"Wonderful." Mia climbed into bed and scratched her cat's head.

"Please do not lose that paper tomorrow."

"I'll try not to." Helen smiled and kissed her daughter goodnight.


	4. Chapter Three

The next morning, Clarisse returned to her Queenly Duties, returning phone calls that were made the day before, and signing papers that had come over from Genovia with her. Charlotte was very sweet and did all that she could to help Clarisse along with the great number of calls that needed to be made to the Genovian Parliament, or to other diplomats in the world. Clarisse sighed as she pulled yet another paper from the box sitting on her desk. Reading it over, she saw the words begin to dance before her eyes. She sat back in her chair and took off her glasses. She needed a break. Rising and walking to the window she looked out at the pitiful garden. Clarisse wished that she had brought Maurice; he always provided a bit of humor during long hours of work. Taking him for a walk also gave her an excuse for a break every now and then and allowed her time to stretch.

She was beginning to feel dread as Amelia's visit drew nearer. She wondered if Helen hadn't told her how important it is for her to come today, and she chose not to. What if she forgot and stayed after school for extracurricular activities?

Clarisse was driving herself near hysterics when Joseph came into her office.

"Nervous about the Princess's visit?"

Clarisse spun around, not expecting anyone to enter the room. "I –eh. Just a bit. I'm worried she isn't going to come" She admitted.

Joseph smiled. "I thought so." He crossed the room in a few strides and stood next to her. "It's going to be alright. She'll be here, Helen said so."

"She's an artist, Joseph. Artists are 'free spirits' are they not? What if she forgets, or doesn't stress the impotance? I don't know. I can't seem to put my thoughts together." She laughed. "I'm sorry." Joseph nodded.

They two stood in silence for a while, staring out at the run-down garden.

"One hour till she arrives here." Joseph said quietly.

Clarisse sighed. "I had better get back to work."

"I should too."

"Thank you, again, for listening to me."

"It was nothing." He gently picked up her hand from the windowsill and kissed it. Clarisse felt a flip-flopping in her stomach. What was happening to her? Whatever it was, she did not exactly want it to go away.

* * *

Mia walked to her locker at the end of the school day to distribute unneeded books, and pick up the required ones for homework. She slammed the cold metal door closed and took out the slip of paper with the address her grandmother was staying at. As she turned to leave, she saw Lana walking with her boyfriend, Josh. Lana saw Mia looking at them, and seized the opportunity to send her a particularly evil look.

Almost every female in the school was in love with Josh, but only one could have him. That person was obviously Lana, because every boy wanted her. It only made sense that the two most popular and good-looking students in the school, pair up. They made Mia feel ill.

"Mia!" Lilly, her best friend trotted over to her locker and quickly grabbed her arm. "Last chance. Coming to help me with the Owl Petition, or not? Ditch the estranged relatives and help the endangered animals." She said with a laugh.

"I would if I could, you know that. But I can't."

Lilly let out an exasperated sigh. "What an inconvenience. The week I finally scratch the surface, getting people interested in the needs of the spotted owl, your grandma decides that she needs to visit."

"I am really sorry, Lilly. I would rather help you." She looked down at her watch; she had ten minutes to find the place her grandmother was at. "Oh –but I have to go now! I'll call you tonight."

"OK. See you later."

* * *

Mia was very thankful that she had not lost the piece of paper with the address on it, because the one she wrote on her hand had sweated off during the day.

She came upon an iron gate with a large 'G' on the center of it. She had thought that her grandmother was at a hotel. This looked more like a mansion. The lawn looked flawless, and... was that a limo in the driveway? She started to feel nervous, nevertheless she pressed the intercom button. A camera moved towards her. She was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable.

_"The school tours are on Saturday, young lady._" An attendant said through the box.

"I –I'm here for a meeting with my grandmother." She replied.

_"Name?"_

"Clarisse Renaldi."

_"Oh. Please come to the front door."_

"Thank you, very much." The gate opened and Mia walked up the path, cutting across the lawn. Suddenly, voices yelling at her to get off of the grass in different languages. She hastily jumped off the yard and walked up the driveway instead. What WAS this place?

When she got to the door, a doorman opened the door and ushered her into the foyer.

"Welcome, Miss Thermopolis. We've been expecting you." He said while an attendant came over and began to pat down Mia's backpack.

"Be careful." She exclaimed. "Please don't crush my soy nuts."

The attendant looked at her carefully. "Your… soy nuts are safe." He allowed the doorman to bring her to a sofa.

"Please," Mia jumped and put down the lid of the vase she was inspecting, "make yourself comfortable."

Mia sat on one of the sofas and dumped her backpack on the floor right in front of the doorman's path, forcing him to jump over it. She saw a small arrangement of flowers on the table, with pears hanging from them. _Odd_ she thought.

"Hello Amelia. I'm Charlotte from the Genovian Attaché Corps." Mia stood when she walked into the room.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you. Uh, where am I?"

* * *

Clarisse looked down at her granddaughter from the hallway at the top of the stairs. Her first thought was she looked a mess; her hair was twisted into frizzy coils, she had glassed with thick black rims and she slouched. Clarisse could tell that she had a lot of work on front of her.

* * *

"The Genovian consulate."

"You're got pears in your flowers."

"Genovian pears. We're famous for them. Now, if you sit down, she'll be with you in a moment." The two were just about to sit down when Clarisse walked down the stairs. The attendant and doorman snapped to attention while Charlotte and Mia stood again.

"No, I don't need a moment. I'm here. Amelia, I'm so glad you could come."

"Hi. Oh, you've got a great place."

"Thank you. Well, let me look at you." Mia removed her glasses to let her grandmother see her face. "You look so…" Clarisse felt a tightening in her chest. She looked very much like her father. Same hair. Same eyes. Same ears. Same nose. "Young." _And like your father_ she added mentally.

"Uh. Thank you." Mia said, sliding her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose. "And you look so…" She glanced up and down her grandmother's ensemble, "clean."

Clarisse felt Charlotte stifle a laugh behind her, "Uh, Charlotte, will you go check on tea in the garden? Please, sit." She said to her granddaughter, motioning towards the sofa. The attendant and doorman sat after their queen was seated.

They sat in awkward silence for a moment; Clarisse studying her granddaughter, while the girl surveyed the room, trying to think of something to say.

"So," Mia suddenly said, "my mom said you wanted to talk to me about something so… shoot."

"Well, before I 'shoot' I have something I want to give you." She gently picked up her grandmothers jewelry box, with her locket nestled safely inside. "Here." She passed it across the coffee table to Mia.

"Oh." Mia was not expecting a gift. "Thank you." She carefully opened the box, revealing a silver locket with the same 'G' as the one on the gate. "Wow…" She was a bit speechless. She didn't even know this woman, and she had given her something. Mia wished she had not come empty handed. She should have brought flowers, not like this room needed anymore.

"It's the Genovian crest." Clarisse offered, as Mia fingered the tiny locket. "It was mine when I was young." She watched as the precious jewelry box fell out of Mia's hand and smashed to the floor. "And… that was my great-grandmothers."

Mia let out a nervous laugh. "I'll keep this safe. I will take good care of it." She opened the zipper to her backpack and roughly dropped it in. Clarisse had a feeling the box was not going to last very long in the girls care. She was going to say how special it was, but decided against it. "Now, what did you want to tell me?" Mia asked as she fastened the locket around her neck.

"Something that I think will have a very big impact on your life."

"Well, I already had braces." Mia joked, showing her grandmother her now perfectly straight teeth.

Clarisse thought perhaps she was not being clear enough, "No. No, it's bigger than orthodontia-"

"The tea is served, ma'am." Charlotte interrupted.

"Oh, this will have to wait. Shall we go into the garden?"

"Sure." Mia jumped up and followed her grandmother down a hall leading to the garden.

...

More like a back yard, Mia saw no signs of flowers.

Clarisse thought that before she broke the news to her granddaughter that she was the heir to the throne of Genovia, she thought she would find out a little bit about her. She immediately regretted it, because instead of a short list of interests, and hobbies, she got an earful of petitions to save various wildlife animals, and the effects of pollution from the exhaust in cars.

Clarisse finally could take no more, "As interesting as that is, dear, we need to get down to business."

"Business? O...kay." Mia said as she stirred some sugar into her tea, and practically broke the cup with her vigor.

Clarisse closed her eyes and took a deep steadying breath. "Amelia, have you ever heard of Edward Christoff Philippe Gerard Renaldi?"

"Uh, no."

Clarisse figured this, "He was the crown prince of Genovia."

"Mmm." Mia seemed unimpressed. "What about him?"

The part Clarisse had dreaded was finally upon her, "Edward Christoff Philippe Gerard Renaldi was your father."

Mia snorted, "Sure, my father was the prince of Genovia." Clarisse nodded. "U-huh. You're joking." That was not the reaction Clarisse had expected.

"Why would I _joke_ about something like that?" Clarisse asked a bit offended.

Realization was creeping into Mia's features, but Clarisse could tell she didn't want to believe it. "No. No, because if he's really a prince than I'm-"

"Exactly. You're not just Amelia Thermopolis. You are Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi; princess of Genovia."

Mia stared at her, too stunned to speak. Then finally, "Me? A princess –shut _up_!"

Clarisse choked on a sip of tea. "I _beg_ your pardon. 'Shut up'?"

A waiter quickly walked over and explained that in America 'shut up' does not always mean 'be quiet'.

"Well, nevertheless you are the princess. And I am queen Clarisse Renaldi."

"Why on earth would you pick me to be your princess?"

"Since your father died, you are the natural heir to the throne of Genovia. That's our law. I'm royal by marriage, but you are royal by blood. You can rule."

Mia was beginning to feel light headed. "Rule? Oh no. Now you have really got the wrong girl. I never lead anybody; not at Brownies, or Campfire Girls." She slumped across the table. "Queen Clarisse, my expectation in life is to be invisible; and I'm good at it." She was on the verge of tears. This was far too much for her to absorb. Mia pushed back her tears and starting to grow angry; even as Clarisse explained how she would help her on her way to royalty, she was simply not ready for this responsibility. She was only hearing bits of Clarisse's talk, but she did hear that she would have to live in Genovia, and that was the final straw.

"Live in Genovia? Whoa! Rewind and freeze! I'm no princess; I'm still waiting for normal body parts to arrive! I refuse to move to and rule a country –and do you want another reason? I don't want to be a princess!" With that she got up from the table, grabbed her bag, and ran for the doors that led inside.

"Amelia? Amelia, come back here!" Joseph came out from his hiding spot in a bush and walked over to Clarisse who sighed exasperatedly, "Well, that went well didn't it?" She asked sarcastically.

"Perhaps she needs a bit more time."

"Will you help me?" She pleaded.

"I am the head of your security and you want me to be a chauffeur _and_ a babysitter?"

"For the time being, yes. The child needs protection!" Clarisse took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry. I know that I am asking a lot of you."

"It's fine."

"Ohh, I wish this had gone better." Clarisse said as she walked back over to the table. "But what else could I have expected? She's a teenager. It isn't fair that I sweep into her life after ignoring her for the entirety of it, and then tell her she must take the throne of a country she doesn't care about."

"She'll come around eventually." Joseph offered as he refilled Clarisse's teacup.

Clarisse had her doubts, and decided that in the morning she would pay her granddaughter a visit before she went to school, to check and see how she was handling everything.

"She looks so much like Philippe, Joseph. It's all I could think about when I was talking to her. The way she got upset and then ran away…" She cut off and looked into her teacup, "Philippe did things like that when he got angry."

Joseph took her hand from the table and gently caressed it with his thumb. Clarisse looked up at him and smiled.

"Are you going to be OK?"

"I think so." She held his gaze a little longer than needed, "I had better get back to work. The papers will not sign themselves." She reluctantly freed her hand of his and walked back inside.

Clarisse had a feeling that the fluttering sensations in the pit of her stomach… could be the beginning of love.


	5. Chapter Four

As the day drew to a close, Clarisse placed the last paper into the box. She sat back in her chair, removed her glasses, and rubbed her eyes.

"Charlotte, I'm going to go up to bed." She said tiredly.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty."

Clarisse was in the doorway when she remembered something. "Charlotte, do you think you could have something done about the garden before the ball? It's a horticultural disaster."

"Certainly, ma'am. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, how about roses… at least for a start."

"I'll get on that right away."

"Thank you so much. Goodnight.

...

On her way upstairs, she encountered Joseph sitting discussing something with the doorman. They both rose to their feet when she entered.

"Joseph, tomorrow morning will you take me to Amelia's house, please?"

"Certainly, ma'am. Would you like a wake up call?"

"That would be lovely, thank you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Your Majesty."

Clarisse felt like it took all of her effort to climb up to her room. The day had been emotionally draining. Hopefully she'd be able to talk to Amelia in the morning, after she had time to sort out her feelings.

Changing into her pajamas, and crawling into bed, Clarisse breathed out deeply. She slowly drifted into a restless sleep, full of tossing and turning.

...

She awoke abruptly the next morning and she was not sure why.

"Your Majesty?" Joe gently shook her shoulder, "Did you still want to catch the Princess before she went to school?" Clarisse slowly opened her eyes and looked up into Josephs face. Joseph chuckled lightly, "You're not the easiest person to wake up either, ma'am. You must have been exhausted -we called the room and everything."

Clarisse suddenly realized the state she must be in. She was wearing no makeup, her hair was not done, and she was in her pajamas. _Oh, God_. She thought. She sat up in bed and grabbed her dressing gown off of the chair. She quickly covered herself and got out of bed.

"Thank you, Joseph." She said as she made her way to the bathroom, "I'll be down soon."

...

She threw a handful of cool, refreshing water on her face.

_How long was Joseph in my room?_ She asked herself. She was a little embarrassed as she took in her appearance in the mirror. Suddenly she had to ask herself why she cared? She never cared what she looked like when her maids came into her room in the morning. She never cared what Rupert thought. Never what Joseph thought. Mentally selecting a black blouse, a black skirt, and a royal purple scarf to wear for the day, she began applying her makeup.

...

Joseph was amazed when she came downstairs ten minutes later, all dressed and ready for the day. It saddened him to see that her outfit was entirely black again.

"Are we ready to go, Joseph?" She asked as she buttoned her coat.

"Yes, ma'am."

"You're going to take Amelia to school today. Do you know where you are going?" They made their way down the steps to the limousine.

"Yes I do."

Clarisse smiled, "Very good. Thank you." Joseph opened the door for her and she sat in the car.

...

"Does the princess know that you are coming over?" Joseph looked at her in his rearview mirror.

"No. I thought if I called she would leave for school immediately." Clarisse felt her heart begin to thump hard in her chest as the car slowed in front of Amelia's house.

...

"Oh, Clarisse." Helen said as she opened the door, "This is surprising. What can I do for you?"

"I was actually hoping that I could talk to Mia before she goes to school. We didn't get off to a very good start yesterday, and I wanted to see if we could begin today on a better note."

"Sure." She slowly went inside as Helen showed her the way. "Sorry about the mess."

"How was Amelia when she returned home yesterday?" Clarisse asked Helen as she looked around their home. Clarisse was a very clean person, and the house was exactly what she would have imagined an artist's to be like. Easels and drying paintings everywhere, brushes strewn near the bases, pallets with dried-on oil paint, coffee mugs filled with ice-cold coffee forgotten in various places.

"Ah, she didn't take it too well. She was very upset that I had not told her sooner." Helen motioned to a bench at the table for Clarisse to sit on. She politely obliged. "I told her that we all did it so that she would be protected, and grow up as normally as possible. Coffee?" Helen asked holding up a pot.

"Yes, please." Clarisse had not had enough caffeine to really start the day. Helen placed two cups on the picnic style table and began to look for a picture for something to do. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, no. I'm looking for a shoebox with pictures in it. I have this favorite photo of Philippe." Clarisse slowly slipped the napkin out from under her cup and wiped off the rim and the table where her hand was resting. A bit rude, she thought, but she felt a bit assuring herself the cup was a bit cleaner. "We had so much fun while he was here in college. He was so full of _joie_ _de vivre_, always laughing and smiling."

Clarisse really didn't want to start in on her son at this moment. There was a more pressing matter to get to first. "I remember. Helen, if Amelia refuses to accept the throne then Genovia will cease to exist as we know it." Helen looked up from the picture filled shoebox.

"So the future of your country is in the hands of my fifteen-year-old?" Helen cast her eyes up skyward, where her daughter's bedroom was. "Well, that's… something." She stopped talking and went back to searching for the picture that she wanted Clarisse to see. That did not make Clarisse feel too comforted about the concern over her country. "Here it is." Helen suddenly said. Clarisse could see the love in her eyes as she passed the photo across the table.

"Ohh." Clarisse gently touched the photo. She remembered this day like it was yesterday. Philippe had gone to christen a cruise ship, and after the ceremony, had thrown off his suit coat and walked along the beach with his mother. Amelia's birthday was approaching the following week, so Clarisse had taken a photo of Philippe with the beautiful cerulean water behind him, to put in the card. He wrote that he wanted her to know that he wished she could visit him in Genovia someday. "Philippe was ready to be king." She felt Helen nod in agreement. "Then the terrible accident."

"Even though it didn't work out between us; I loved your son very much." Helen said with sincerity.

"Thank you."

"I can't imagine how much that must have hurt you. I am deeply sorry."

"I know Philippe would have been proud of Amelia for taking her place. But she can't take the throne now, she's too young. I can't wait until she's eighteen-" Clarisse was cut off by her granddaughter as she slid down a fire pole. She looked over at Helen to say good morning, and was surprised when she saw her grandmother sitting at her kitchen table.

"Oh, this is a nightmare! I'm going back to bed."

"Mia." Helen stopped her, "The three of us have to talk…"

"Oh, OK. Is there something else about me and my life that maybe I might want to know about. Oh –are you two waiting to take me on a talk show somewhere to let me know I have a twin sister, who's a duchess?"

Clarisse sighed inwardly. Her father's daughter.

"Yesterday did not go well. Will you just listen to your grandmother?" Mia began to pour herself a glass of water and seemed ready to hear Clarisse out.

Clarisse explained the situation to her granddaughter, trying to impress the gravity of the situation upon her. As Helen and Clarisse talked, Mia got very frustrated, and finally snapped back at the two, berating them for lying to her for her entire life. She ran back to her room, Helen rushing quickly behind her.

...

Clarisse followed Helen up the stairs, though at a much slower pace. She wanted to take in their house which was in fact, quite interesting. When she found Mia's room, Helen was already trying to get her to come down.

"You know, most kids hope for a car for their sixteenth birthday. Not a country!" She said to Clarisse and slammed a tiny door shut.

Helen probably assumed this could take a while. "Just make yourself comfortable." She motioned for Clarisse to sit down on the bed.

Clarisse was about to sit on the bed when a cat hissed at her. She jumped and decided that standing was perhaps better.

"This is getting us nowhere. Talk to me." Helen demanded.

Mia slid the door open again. "I can't talk to you right now, I'm late for a meeting with my guidance consoler."

"I'm late for a meeting with Spain and Portugal!" Clarisse looked down at her watch. She had fifteen minutes to be back at the consulate, prepared for a long, important discussion.

It took a while, but Helen finally coaxed her daughter down from her 'tower.'

Clarisse began to walk out the door and down the stairs. She heard Helen stop Mia. She lingered on one of the steps to listen.

"I want you to be nice to her. You're acting like such a little brat."

"Mom, how do you think you would act in my given situation?"

"She's not a bad person; give her a chance." Clarisse smiled. So Helen didn't hate her after all. She heard Mia snort. "Mia, please? She wants to help you."

"OK." Clarisse quickly hurried down the last few steps and stood in the kitchen.

"Alright, Clarisse. What time do you think Princess Lessons will be over?

"Six o'clock at the latest? Does that seem fair?" Mia sighed and nodded.

"I'll see you at six then, Mia. Have a great day at school. Be confident!"

"Thanks mom."

"Come along, Amelia." Clarisse said as she walked towards the door. She would need to get back to the consulate fast.

As they made their way down the stairs, Mia must have been made uneasy by the silence, so she started to talk.

"So… soon I'll have a car and I won't need a limo. I'm going to be sixteen this year, and my mom traded two paintings to get me a 1966 Mustang –you do know what a Mustang is, right?"

"I raise mustangs. That is not a sensible car for a princess." Mia was not sure if that was a joke or not. She continued anyway.

"Well, see, its not really a sensible car for anyone; it doesn't run."

It dawned on Clarisse that this might be a good bargaining point. Perhaps Clarisse could help to pay for the car if Mia would comply in lessons and give her all. She'd have to ask Helen. "I suppose I could donate something to this vehicle."

Mia was surprised at this gesture and was just about to thank her grandmother when she saw her neighbor. "Good morning, Mr. Robitussin."

"Who is this gentleman?"

"Oh, he's my neighbor." She added quietly "But you wouldn't like to meet him. He doesn't have very nice manners."

"Good morning." Clarisse said brightly. "Now there's someone I want you to meet."

Mia was genuinely shocked when she saw two limos. The person she was meeting was her chauffeur. "Amelia, this is Joseph."

"Hi. Nice to meet you. Are you my… driver?"

"No Amelia. Joseph is my Head of Security, he oversees my safety among other duties. He will pick you up promptly after school. I will see you later." She turned to leave.

"Hey, Grandma?" Clarisse spun back to look at Mia. "Just wondering, but what if I refuse to come to my lesson today? I mean I do have a life."

Clarisse looked from Mia to Joseph, who was smiling at her. Mia was testing her limits. Clarisse looked back at Mia and smiled sweetly. "Then you will be walking to your sixteenth birthday. Have a wonderful day at school, dear. See you at three." She turned to walk to her own limousine. She knew there would be a great deal of battles with Mia before they could both accept each other. Much like the way a mustang must be broken in to become a beautiful, well-bred, well trained horse.


	6. Chapter Five

Clarisse was in the middle of signing yet another paper when Charlotte entered her office.

"Your Majesty, the diplomatic pouch has arrived, and she's here." Clarisse nodded and took a small parcel from her assistant. She pulled it out of the packaging and handed it to Charlotte to dispose of.

"Send her in." She looked over the red diary with a heart-shaped lock on the front.

"Yes, ma'am." Clarisse slid the diary into one of the drawers in her desk and got up to go to the library, where Mia's lesson would take place.

...

"Good afternoon, Amelia. I hope you had a good day at school."

"It was OK. It was school." She looked around the library at the photographs and paintings. She saw the large portrait of her grandmother hanging over the fireplace and stood transfixed.

"Charlotte, take notes will you?" Clarisse carefully inspected the girl, and figured out what physical things needed to be cleaned up. She would have to get Paolo over from Genovia earlier than she expected. Her grandmother's blunt declarations shocked Mia. She was delighted, however when Clarisse said her ears were like her fathers, but then her feelings were crushed again when her nail polish was criticized. She was going to have to learn to build up a tough skin.

"Now that we have all that out of the way, lets move on to the way we carry ourselves. When walking in a crowd, one is under scrutiny all the time." She demonstrated how to walk across the floor. Mia followed her instruction. "So we don't schlump like this." Then she demonstrated how not to walk. "Are you with me so far?"

"Yes. I should walk tall, because I will always be under scrutiny."

"Yes. Never slouch. Now, we shall fine tune the way you walk. We drop the shoulders, we think tall, we tuck under, and we transfer the weight from one foot-" Charlotte was trying to hold back a laugh. Mia was doing something behind her. She looked back and Mia gave her an innocent smile. "Will you please stop fooling around? I do not want to do this anymore than you do."

"Sorry."

"Lets move on to sitting properly, shall we?" She pulled two chairs side by side. "When you sit, you must not let the back of your dress get creased." Mia sat down on the chair the way she normally would. Clarisse closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I do not want to see you collapse into a chair like that. You must sit down carefully." Clarisse showed her how. "Now show me how you would sit at, say, a ball." Mia sat down carefully so as not to wrinkle the back of her skirt, and delicately crossed her legs and put her hands on her knees. "No. Princesses never cross their legs in public." She moved her granddaughters crossed leg off, and began to instruct her how to sit. "Why don't you just tuck one ankle behind the other and place the hands gracefully on the knees." She watched Mia out of the corner of her eye attempt to mimic her, and start to fall off the chair. She was beginning to get tired of this. Better luck tomorrow, she thought. "Charlotte, I think it's time for tea."

"Yes, ma'am."

Clarisse turned her gaze to her granddaughter in a heap on the floor. "Are you alright, Amelia?" She got to her feet and extended a hand to Mia to help her up.

"Oh yeah. I'm fine. I'm used to falling." She stood up and brushed off her skirt.

"How about some tea?"

"That would be great. Thanks."

...

Clarisse and Mia sipped their tea in silence for a while before Mia started conversation.

"So, um, how long were you married to… er, Grandpa?"

"I was married to Rupert for almost forty-two years."

"Oh. Wow. That's a long time. When did you get married?"

"I was nineteen." Clarisse wasn't sure where all this was leading, but she wanted her granddaughter to know more about her, so she would answer the forthcoming questions to the best of her ability.

"That's scary, three years older than me? I'm not getting married then, by the way." She played with the rim of her cup. "Had you just turned nineteen, or were you closer to twenty?"

"My twentieth birthday was a little over five months after the wedding."

"Were you betrothed?"

Where had Mia gotten all these questions? "Yes I was."

"Did you have any other kids besides Dad?"

"Yes. I had a son before giving birth to your father. Rupert and I called him Pierre."

"Did you love Grandpa like those princesses in stories?"

Clarisse quickly changed the subject. "Why are we talking about me so much?"

"Mom said I should get to know you."

"Well, we'll have talk more tomorrow, because we should probably resume your lesson." Time wasn't a luxury they had, though she wished she could savor her tea.

...

Before the next days lesson Clarisse gave Joseph instructions to pick up black high-heels for Mia to wear. He went off to purchase them before picking her up at school and had a very interesting experience with the woman behind the counter.

_"So, would you like them wrapped? Or do you want to wear them out?"_

_"Excuse me? No, no, these aren't for me, they're for my boss's granddaughter."_

_"Look, I don't care."_

_"They're not mine." And with that he quickly put the money down and let the shop as fast as he could._

Joseph had agreed to help teach some of the lesson, being a splendid dancer himself. The first part was table manners, which Clarisse would handle.

When Mia arrived, Clarisse whisked her straight into the dining room to begin. She sat Mia down in a chair and placed a scarf across the chair back so that Mia would sit up. She didn't like it very much and kept squirming.

"Grandma? Is it customary in Genovia to imprison your dinner guest with 'Hermeez' scarves?"

"It's _H__ermèès_. The scarf is merely a training tool; eventually you will learn to sit and eat properly without it." Mia was having some trouble getting to the salt and was fidgeting quite a bit. "Manners matter. But enough etiquette for the day." Clarisse went over to Mia and untied the scarf. "Come along."

"Where are we going?"

"You are going to have a dance lesson with Joseph."

...

They went into the ballroom together and Joseph was already waiting with a CD player and a few selections of music. "Are you ready, Princess?"

Mia turned to Clarisse, "I have to learn how to dance? I can barely walk."

"Amelia, it is very important that you learn. Joseph is a wonderful teacher and my preferred dance partner." She quickly smiled at him. Joseph usually saved her from many dances in a row with members of Parliament with two left feet. "Genovia does a lot of trade with Spain, so we prepare for that. The quickest way to a Spanish heart is dance. Am I right, Joseph?"

"Very."

"Go on, Amelia."

"Alright. I apologize ahead of time for any bodily harm that I may cause to you, Joe."

"You're going to be fine, Princess. Tell me what kind of dancing do you do?"

"Dancing? Just normal…" She began to demonstrate to Joseph her 'dancing' while humming a tune for herself. Joseph gave Clarisse a look.

"We have a Genovian alternative." Joseph said as Clarisse hit a button on the CD player, quite pleased with herself when it worked. "Now the dances here are very sedate, right from the hips." Mia began to bob her head. He reached forward to still her. "No bobbing of the head please. It's not a doggie on a dashboard." Clarisse bit her lip to keep from laughing. Joe caught Mia before she could give up on herself and leave. "Now, this dance is between a Waltz and a Tango."

"It's a Wango?" Mia asked.

"No." Clarisse put her head in her hands. The things she had to deal with. "Alright, here we go. Spin out."

"Spin out." Mia reiterated.

"And spin into me. Spin –uhh!" Mia's elbow drove into his chest and he felt the wind knocked partially out of him.

Clarisse gasped and covered her mouth. She hadn't expected that. Josephs voice was a bit raspy as he assured Mia he was alright.

The second spin went much better, to everyone's great relief.

"I did it?"

"Yes you did." The tiny sense of accomplishment would do wonders for her.

"Grandma, I spun without hurting anyone!"

"That's very good news." Clarisse said.

When they finished, Mia smiled feeling very good about herself.

"Better. It's coming along. Now you may go home."

Excited for the early reprieve, she grabbed her things. "Thank you! See you tomorrow." She called as she merrily streaked out of the room.

Clarisse took off her glasses and wrapped the beaded necklace around the nose bridge. "Thank you, Joseph."

She began to gather her papers when Joseph hit the 'Play' button on the CD player. Clarisse looked at him, not knowing exactly what to do with herself.

"You've been wearing black too long." Clarisse smiled at him and when he extended his hand to her, she made no hesitation to accept the dance. She wasn't exactly sure why she was doing this; she didn't want to resist though. Joseph took her in his arms and she felt the warm sensation again. It felt right. Time seemed to dissolve into nothing, and suddenly Clarisse and Joseph were the only ones. She felt like she was on a cloud. Perhaps Joseph felt the same way about her as she did him.

She wasn't aware of Charlotte entering the room, seeing the pair dancing, and backing out slowly.

Clarisse was not sure how long they had danced for until she heard the music change. She was wrapped in Joseph's arms and she felt her heart pounding. Her breath came in short gasps. This had to be love.

"It never ceases to amaze me how gracefully you dance, madam."

"Please… call me Clarisse."


	7. Chapter Six

Somewhere in the short amount of time in between Princess Lessons and dinner, Clarisse found time to breathe life back into her wardrobe. She carefully placed all her black dresses in the suitcase, and went out to find some more colorful items.

"Charlie?" She called to her driver as she walked down the stairs.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Will you quickly take me to a shop to find some newer clothes?"

"Certainly, ma'am. Is there something wrong with the ones that you brought with you?" He asked her.

"Only that they are all black. I've been in mourning too long. I think it's time to begin putting my life back together again."

"Well then, by all means." He smiled. It would be good to see his Queen, once again, back in the colors that she loved.

...

Satisfied with her purchases, she hung them all up in her closet. She took a step back and looked at the variation of colors. It felt good to have gotten rid of the black. Clarisse felt that Philippe would not have wanted her to remain depressed, especially now that she was getting to know Amelia more and more.

It amazed her how a few words from Joseph had made her jump to her feet, and begin returning to the way her life used to be. Quite pleased with herself, she went to dinner.

* * *

The next day, Clarisse donned a royal purple skirt, blouse and jacket. She would need to make a slow transition, so as not to send the staff and Joseph into shock.

Now that Amelia was slowly beginning to learn more and more about being a royal, Clarisse felt it was time for her to start looking the part. It was time to meet Paolo.

...

"Where is she? She's-" With that, her granddaughter ran into the ballroom, her wild hair flying all over, and her face a light shade of pink. She had obviously run here. "You're late." Clarisse informed her.

"I know. I'm really sorry but-"

"And where is Paolo?" Clarisse asked Charlotte before Mia could finish.

"Send in Paolo." Charlotte told the door attendant.

The doors leading out to the garden swung open, and with it came a flamboyant man flanked by two scantily clad women. "Ah, always prompt." Clarisse said.

"Regina mia. Buon giorno. My assistants Gretchen and Helga." The two ladies curtsied as he introduced them.

"Good afternoon. We are so pleased you could make yourself available to be here."

"Your Majesty." Paolo said as he walked forward to kiss Clarisse's hand.

Clarisse's smile faded as Paolo continued to kiss her hand. I was making her very uncomfortable. With a bit of trouble she removed her hand from Paolo's grip and wiped it off. "We won't waste time. Let the work begin."

"Of course. Where is the beautiful girl?" Paolo asked her.

Clarisse motioned towards Mia. "My granddaughter, Amelia." Paolo's scream caught both Mia and Clarisse off-guard and they jumped.

"She is gorgeous." Paolo recovered, and moved her towards the mirror.

"Paolo, we have a limited number of days before the state dinner."

"Frizzy, busy, dizzy. In the best sense of course."

That made no sense to Clarisse, but she went on. "I would like it of your ladies would also sign our confidentiality agreement."

"Majesty, they know what is a secret, eh?" Mia cast her grandmother a uneasy glance. Clarisse gently smiled at her.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty. The Genovian Press Secretary is waiting for your call."

"Oh, yes. Of course." Clarisse looked down at her watch. "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave and come back and be surprised.

"Uh-" Mia began to protest.

"Charlotte," Clarisse said quietly before she left, "watch him like a hawk."

...

Done with her long and boring phone call with the Press Secretary, Clarisse sat back, and pulled out a small box of pictures that were in a drawer in her desk. It was a shame, she thought, that not all of these pictures could make it onto her desk. But in quiet moments like this, it was nice to have something to do. She smiled at a picture of her and her two sons when they were teenagers. Clarisse desperately missed Pierre. He was her only living family and she wanted to talk to him. Since he had wanted to become a priest Pierre was at the church learning all he needed to know to become ordained.

Not quite aware of how much time had passed, Clarisse looked up when she heard Charlotte speak softly in the doorway.

"She's all ready, ma'am."

Clarisse set aside the pictures and got up. She couldn't wait to see how Mia had turned out.

...

"Majesty, Paolo is exhausted, because Majesty," He pointed to the horrendous pictures of her granddaughter, "only Paolo can take this, and this and give you…"

"A Princess." His ladies finished for him.

Slowly the pictures were pulled back, revealing a groomed and made up Mia. Clarisse was surprised. She looked better than she could have hoped.

"Better. Much better." She extended her hand to Paolo, but then remembered the awful slimy feeling and pulled it back. Instead she suggested they have tea. Clarisse started for the doors leading to the garden. When Mia didn't follow, she told Paolo and Charlotte she would meet them outside.

"Are you alright?" She asked, walking back to where Mia sat in front of the mirror.

"I don't look like myself." She said.

"You look very pretty."

"Grandma…" She trailed off.

"What is it?" She gently asked putting her hand on Mia's shoulder.

"I don't know. Forget it." She shook her grandmothers hand from her shoulder and walked quickly out to the garden.

Clarisse watched Mia walk away. She could not understand why she was unhappy. She had figured that a new look would be a welcome change.

...

Mia was quiet all the while they were sitting in the garden having tea. Clarisse was a bit worried about her. In the few days she had gotten to know her granddaughter, she had done nothing but talk.

When it was time for Mia to go back home, Clarisse walked with her to the doors.

"Is there something wrong? You were awfully quiet outside –and that's a big thing for you." She said in hopes of lightening the mood.

"I'm sorry, Grandma. I'm just tired. I have a lot of homework to do, so if it's OK…" She motioned towards the door.

"Oh, by all means. Get your homework done. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." She said rather sadly.

Joseph walked past Clarisse, and was just about to walk out the door to bring Mia back home, when Clarisse tugged his jacket sleeve.

"Joseph, will you try and see what's wrong with her for me?"

"I'll do my best." He scanned over Clarisse's dress and smiled. "You look… very nice."

"Oh, thank you, Joseph." With a final smile at her, he bowed his head and turned to follow Mia out the door.

...

Late that night, after supper and after Clarisse had changed into her pajamas, she picked up the phone and called her eldest son in Genovia.

It was still early in Europe where Pierre was living, but she knew he would be up.

_"Hello?"_

"Pierre? It's mum."

_"Oh, mum. It's great to hear from you. How is everything going?"_

"It's going alright."

_"You and Amelia are getting along?"_

"Well, at the moment she is a bit distant with me; I'm afraid I might have scared her off when she was slowly coming around. When I first told her about her position she ran away and completely resented me."

_"A bit like Philippe that way?_" Pierre asked.

"That's what I thought."

_"I remember when Philippe was fifteen. What an annoying little brat. But you always let him get away with it."_ Pierre said with a bit of a chuckle.

Clarisse smiled, remembering it. "You were how old then; seventeen? Everyone annoyed you."

_"I was just stupid."_

"No you weren't." Clarisse smoothed the wrinkles of her robe out. She wished he were here with her.

_"Why are we talking about me? I want to know all about Amelia."_

"She's told me she loves animals. She isn't a popular person at her school, and people sit on her-"

_"People sit on her?"_ Pierre asked, unbelievingly.

"Apparently. She likes a boy. She has a best friend named Lilly. She owns an old Mustang that doesn't run."

_"But what about her features? Does she look like Philippe?"_

Clarisse sighed. "So much like him. She acts like him too. It's a bit eerie actually."

_"So how have you handled that?"_ He asked quietly.

"I think I've handled it well. I wish you could have come out with me."

_"Me too. It would have been nice to see her."_

"You will soon."

Clarisse talked with him for a half hour more, and when she hung up there was a light knock on the door.

Checking herself over to make sure she was presentable she called out, "Come in."

Joseph walked through the door and shut it behind him. "I'm sorry for coming to you so late."

"It's fine, I was up anyway."

"I talked to Princess Mia, ma'am."

"Did she tell you why she was upset?"

"She was vague…"

"Well?"

"She said something like 'what will my friends think' and 'I'm not myself' but I didn't know how to respond, so I kept quiet."

Clarisse looked down. Clearly, Amelia was very upset. "Oh, what have I done?"

Joseph took a few steps closer to her. "Nothing. She looks very nice. Exactly like a princess-"

"Yes, Joseph, but maybe that is what I did wrong. Perhaps she thinks I wouldn't respect her unless she was pretty."

"May I sit?" She motioned for him to sit next to her "I don't think she is mad at you. I think eventually she will grow to like her new look. She's just not used to it yet. Best give her some space."

"Well, thankfully, tomorrow we don't have Princess Lessons."

Joseph stood. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Your Majesty." He smiled gently at her and then turned to leave.

"Joseph?"

He stopped walking and turned around. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Won't you please call me Clarisse? You've grown to be such a good friend, and I'd really like it if you would use my name."

Joseph stood for a while, thinking, without answering. Clarisse quietly studied his face for any traces of what he was feeling.

"Well," He said after a few moments, "have a nice night, Clarisse." He held her gaze for a moment longer and then turned to leave.


	8. Chapter Seven

Clarisse dreamt that night of the dance she and Joseph had done two days ago.

_She could feel his arms gently guiding Clarisse across the floor, her delicate hand in his strong, but gentle hold. She felt safe. How she wished she could remain in his arms forever._

Bright sunlight on her face brought her out of her sleep.

After dressing, she went downstairs to get her schedule and eat breakfast. On her way down, Joseph walked past her.

"Good morning, Joseph."

"Good morning ma'am. Sleep well?"

"I slept alright. Are you going to pick up Amelia?"

"Yes. And her friend, Lilly, and Lillys brother."

"Would you see if she's doing alright this morning? Perhaps ask Helen?"

"I'll do my best. I'll be back after I drop her off, to bring you to the Japanese Embassy."

Looking over her list of things to do, the first thing was a meeting with the Emperor of Japan, and then back to the consulate for lunch with the Prime Minister of Spain.

_It's going to be a long day_. She thought to herself.

...

"Did Amelia say anything?" She asked Joseph while he was bringing her to the Japanese Embassy.

"She didn't _say_ anything."

"What does that mean?" Clarisse asked.

"When we went to pick up her friend, Lilly, she sort of, well, chastised her."

"Oh my goodness." Clarisse bit her knuckle and looked out of the window.

"When we pulled up at the school, I got out to talk to her. She still insisted that she was fine." Joe looked into his rearview mirror. Clarisse had closed her eyes and had her face in her hand. He wondered if she was crying as Mia had done earlier that day. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she finally looked up, without any hint of tears in her eyes.

She remained silent for the rest of the ride, thinking about her granddaughter.

...

As the afternoon was drawing to a close, and Clarisse's lunch with the Prime Minister was near end, she felt a sudden wave of exhaustion take hold. It had been a very boring day, and she needed to get out and do something. Perhaps oversee the planting of the rosebushes in the garden.

The meeting with the Emperor had gone well, and she had taken time to look over the garden in their consulate. She thought it was very pretty, and the dazzling waterfall in the front was certainly eye-catching. She had made a mental note to herself to put a conversation piece like that in the garden of her consulate.

She was uncharacteristically distracted during this meeting and only caught bits and pieces of what the Prime Minister was talking about. She was glad it wasn't anything about the welfare of her country, just small talk. She was looking out at her garden, and the horrendous state it was in, imagining what would look good where, and what other things would look nice here and there.

She was daydreaming when Joseph walked by the door. He was talking to another member of security, pointing to different spots near the gates and the hedges where he had been hiding when Clarisse and Mia had their first meeting. She suspected he must have been laying down stations for other men to be during the State Dinner and the Independence Day Ball.

Joseph had taken off his leather jacket and was in his black dress shirt and black slacks. Clarisse couldn't help but notice how nice he looked. He had stayed in such wonderful shape in the years he had worked for her. She thought in shame at how much her own body had changed after two children and the death of her husband and son. Joseph, apart from losing some hair, still looked about the same as he did when he was first hired. She suspected it was all those monthly trips with other bodyguards to a training camp to brush up on their skills. She quietly watched as Joseph loosened his tie a bit and continued to point out places to put his men. Clarisse felt the sudden urge to touch him; run her hands over his chest and feel his honed strength beneath her fingers. The thought of it sent a wave of desire over her.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?"

Clarisse was brought back to reality with a lurch. _Oh God_. She thought, _how long have I been ignoring him?_ She scolded herself for letting her mind wander to such inappropriate places. She was not a teenager, for heavens sake, she was an adult -a mother, a grandmother. She blamed the sudden heat… the heat that she realized had not been there before. She needed to keep her imagination in check from now on.

"I'm so sorry. It's, er, the heat." Heat indeed.

"Really? I thought it was quite comfortable in here."

"Oh." Clarisse brought her hand to her cheek. "Perhaps I am a bit overdressed. Forgive me, continue what you were saying, please."

Clarisse listened to the Prime Minister for another ten minutes until he excused himself. She saw him to the door then went into her office.

Standing in front of a fan she let the cool air calm the blood racing through her. She felt guilty letting lust consume her like that. It wasn't as if she even imagined anything past touching him. She could not believe how weak she was to get worked up over a fantasy as innocent as that; it distracted her for conversation as well and made her look rude. She _had_ been rude. She chided herself again for letting herself daydream in the first place when she should have been listening to the Prime Ministers story -even if watching grass grow would have been more interesting.

She sighed and looked out at the garden again. Suddenly remembering the things she had thought up for the garden she quickly wrote them down so that she could discuss them with Charlotte when she next saw her.

...

As Clarisse was beginning to settle in for the evening, she sat on the sofa in her room, curled up with her hands around a mug of tea. She enjoyed the sound of unadulterated silence…

A knock at the door. Clarisse inwardly groaned. "Come in." She called out, her voice not showing the irritation she felt at her serenity being interrupted.

She felt her heart flip over when Joseph entered her room.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Clarisse couldn't help blushing a bit, remembering what she had imagined. She hoped he didn't notice. "Not at all." There was a silence, and Clarisse watched Joseph shift his weight from foot to foot. "Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"I wanted to know if you were feeling alright. You seemed a bit distant earlier today."

She looked down at the liquid in her cup. "Well, I still don't know if I made the right choice about Amelia."

"You can't keep beating yourself up about it-"

"I'm such a bad grandmother. I should have asked her what she wanted to do, rather than tell her."

Joseph walked over to Clarisse and sat down beside her. He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to soothe her. "No you're not. She's going to be fine. She'll get used to it, and she'll love it. Maybe that boy she likes will ask her out."

Clarisse looked at him, "She told you about that too?"

He rolled his eyes. "She never stops talking about him." Clarisse laughed gently.

"I do love her, but I have to wonder if she knows that. She probably doesn't think that I would love her if she still had frizzy hair, thick glasses, and chewed up, sparkly nails. It's amazing, Joseph; she and I met, and didn't get along at first, but now I absolutely adore her. I knew I would before I came. It's like when you're pregnant, and you've never met your child, but you know you'll love them no matter wh-" It dawned on Clarisse that firstly, she was rambling, and secondly her hand was resting in Josephs and he was running his thumb over the back of it. "Er…" What had she been talking about? Her entire train of thought had gone out the window. This was becoming ridiculous. She needed to get a hold of herself. "I –I'm sorry," she pulled her hand out of Josephs and stood to walk over to the window, "I shouldn't place my problems on you." She tried, vainly, to build the wall up around herself again. She shouldn't give into feelings like this.

Joseph seemed to notice her change in demeanor. "Is everything OK?"

No, everything was NOT fine! She was beginning to have feelings for a dear friend of almost thirty years, at a most inconvenient time in her life! She was confused. She had a country to look out for, and a granddaughter to train to be royal…

"Oh, yes. It's fine, Joseph." Why did she lie like that? She always told him the truth before. Why was it so difficult now? Why was he doing this to her now?

"If you are certain… Clarisse, I should be getting back to the security room."

"Thank you, Joseph." She said as he closed the door.

Clarisse could have kicked herself for acting so stupid. Why did she have these feelings? Why did they have to start _now_? Why did they have to start at all? She already knew what a relationship was like, so why would she want another one? But this felt so different and lovely…

Tired from a long day, Clarisse climbed into bed and let sleep take her. Tomorrow was another long day, with long meetings, and she was determined to keep her imagination where it belonged while doing so.


	9. Chapter Eight

"How did school go today, Amelia?" Clarisse asked during tea.

"It was fine." Mia said quickly, not looking at her.

Clarisse sighed. "Are you still upset with me?"

At this Mia looked up at her, a puzzled expression on her face. "Upset with you? I was never upset with you. What gave you that idea?"

"I thought that you were upset about what I had Paolo do to you."

"I wasn't upset. I was shocked. It wasn't my hair that I was upset about. –Well, kind of. I do like it now. It looks really good. My hair has never looked like this; I was worried what people at school would say."

"What did they say?"

"Well, Lilly practically had a cow, but Michael told me later that she was just jealous. I wore a hat to school, but that snobby girl I was telling you about, Lana; she told the teacher and he made me take it off. They said I was trying to fit in, and thought it was a wig."

Clarisse sighed again. She knew that now Mia was going to talk for a long time. At least she wasn't upset anymore.

While Mia talked she began to fiddle with the tassel that hung off a bookmark of a book she brought with her. Clarisse noted with some surprise that it was _The Scarlet Letter_ by Nathaniel Hawthorn. When she began to praise her granddaughter, she said it was assigned for English, and it was really killing her to read. Clarisse tuned in and out of Mia's talking. She was mentally selecting books from her library for Mia.

Mia picked up her teacup and began to take a long sip. She must have been trying to drain out he last bits, because she was making slurping noises.

"Amelia, would you please not make that noise when you drink your tea?"

"But, Grandma, how am I going to get all the sugar at the bottom? Waste not, want not." She said with a smile.

Clarisse figured she didn't need any more sugar.

"There's sugar at the bottom of the cup?" Mia handed her the cup, and to Clarisse's disgust, there was a fine coating of sugar layering the bottom. "Amelia, if there is sugar on the bottom; number one, don't try and get it out. Also, that is absolutely repulsive. One lump would have worked perfectly."

"I don't really like tea. The sugar masks the taste."

"Mmm… alright. I think we are done here. Follow me, please." Mia put her book into her bag, and followed Clarisse.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to practice Public Speaking."

Mia froze. "P-public Speaking?"

Clarisse turned to look at her. "Yes. Is that a problem? As Princess of Genovia, you must learn."

"Grandma, I am not good at reading aloud."

"It's only me. Come along, dear."

...

Clarisse soon figured out that Mia had not been lying. She struggled with the words of _Romeo and Juliet_. True, the Elizabethan was awkward, but Mia was a good reader. It shouldn't have been that hard.

"Oh, R-Romeo, Romeo! w-wheref-fore art thou R-Romeo? D-deny t-thy f-father" She was holding the podium with white knuckles. Her legs were shaking, and her voice was weak. Clarisse had been listening to her stumble over all of Juliet's lines, and was beginning to get irritated.

"Amelia? Relax. Take a deep breath. You can do this. Have confidence. When you address a crowd, look at the back wall. Then you won't see them."

"OK." Mia breathed out.

"Try again."

Mia fixed her eyes on the back wall. "Oh, R-Romeo, Romeo! w-wheref-fore art thou R-"

"Amelia, don't stare at the wall. Just look at it. Scan your eyes across it as if you were looking at the people. Otherwise you look like a Deer in the Headlights."

"OK." She began again, "R-Romeo, Romeo, w-wheref-"

"It's OK. Calm down." Clarisse soothed. "You know, your father never really liked to speak to the public."

"What did he do?"

"Philippe never really made any public speeches, because he was never given the chance. When he was sixteen his school had a Public Speaking class that everyone was made to take. He absolutely hated it. I remember one time, he had to make a speech to the school, with someone else: a school debate, or something. Well, he couldn't get through it. He ran off the stage and threw up."

Clarisse watched Mias eyes widen. "H-he did?"

"Yes." Clarisse laughed a little bit. "Poor Philippe."

Mia began to think about this. Her father didn't like speech making either. He had to do a debate at school, and threw up in the end. Just like she had. It gave her a bit of courage, and she tried to read again.

"Oh, Romeo… Romeo… Wherefore art thou Romeo?" She began hesitantly, "Deny thy father, refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

Clarisse was impressed. Where had this come from? She read Romeos line, "Shall I hear more, or speak at this?"

"Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague." Mia started feeling more comfortable, "What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself."

Clarisse smiled. "My goodness, Amelia. Where did that come from?"

Mia smiled and shrugged, "I dunno."

"Well, you did very well. I am proud of you."

"Thank you."

Clarisse took a few books off of the desk she had been sitting at. "I was quite pleased when you said you were reading _The Scarlet Letter_, but you said it was mandatory, and you didn't like it. However, I think that you will like the books I have your spare time I would like you to read these." Mia looked at all the titles of the books, and her face fell.

"I have to read all of them?"

"Well, I'm not forcing you to. I would _like_ you to read these. I do think that you'd enjoy them, though."

Mia sighed. "OK. I'll try them."

"That's all I'm asking. Do you want to continue, or shall we do something else?"

"Something else." She said quickly. Even though she had succeeded, she didn't want to continue.

...

After inspecting the garden with Mia and Charlotte, Clarisse decided that she would allow her granddaughter to end lessons early today. Mia said she wasn't ready to go home, and asked if it was alright if she stayed and talked.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" Clarisse asked as she and Mia sat down on the chairs in the library.

"I don't know. Anything, I suppose."

Clarisse smiled. She had hoped that she and Mia would be able to get along like this. "Alright."

Mia bit her lip, trying to think up questions.

"You said you had another son, right?"

"Yes. Pierre."

"Did he and my Dad get along when they were little?"

Clarisse laughed lightly at the memories that were coming back, "Not often. Pierre was an only child for the first two years of his life, and was very… headstrong. But he was so sweet; he had everyone wrapped around his finger. Then your father was born. I think the first thing Pierre did when they were introduced, was hit him with something he had been holding." Mia laughed. She didn't have a sibling, and when she witnessed Sibling Rivalry, it both startled and amused her.

"I think if I had a brother of sister, we wouldn't fight."

"Mmm, you think that. Siblings always fight with each other."

"Tell me more about my Dad? And his brother."

"Your father was so adorable, but so bad."

Mia smiled, "Bad?"

"He was a terror. An absolute terror, but you couldn't help but love him." Mia watched how comfortable her Grandmother had gotten while talking about her sons.

"When did my Dad start acting more like a prince?"

"It took a while. He was quite the individual. He loved Genovia, though." She looked at her granddaughter. "So, tell me a bit more about yourself. What kind of things did you do when you were younger?"

"Well, Lilly and I have been friends for as long as I can remember, so she's a big part of my life. One day, in first grade, some kid in front of us in the lunch line pulled down his pants. I, of course, freaked out completely, because it was just Mom and I at home and I never saw an… um… you know what I mean." Clarisse nodded, "Lilly, however, has an older brother and told the kid that she has seen bigger." Clarisse laughed lightly.

"Did he ever do it again?"

"Never dared to. We have been practically inseparable since. I mean, we fight, we did the day after my hair was but, but I mean, it only lasted a few minutes. When we were little we used to pretend that we were princesses." Clarisse raised her eyebrows. "Kind of ironic. I actually used to wish I were one. But I think most little girls do. This was in first grade too, I think; Lana, the snotty girl, told me that I was too ugly to be a princess." Clarisse's eyes softened. Her granddaughter reminded her a bit of herself when she was younger. Clarisse was just about to respond to Mia, when Charlotte came in the room.

"Excuse me Your Majesty, Princess, Helen is in the foyer. She said she wants to take you out for dinner."

"Oh, cool." Mia said as she picked up her books from the table, and put them in her bag. "Do you want to come with us? I think we're going to get pizza."

"No thank you, Amelia. Perhaps… some other time?"

"OK then. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, dear." Clarisse watched her leave the room. She sat for a few seconds, and then Mia came back in. "Forget something?" She was quite startled when Mia walked over and hugged her. Clarisse felt herself tense. She was not used to being hugged, anymore. Since Philippe had died, Clarisse hadn't done much of it. She found it odd that in such a short time, she could become so unaccustomed to it.

Mia let go of her hold on her shoulders and smiled at her. She turned and went out the door, calling over her shoulder, "Night, Grandma."

Clarisse sat in silence for a while. She let out a breath she didn't realize had been held. What had happened to her? In two months she had become cold, and unfeeling? She didn't even return the hug to her granddaughter who was a living, breathing memorandum of her son.

Clarisse rose, and started up toward her room. Just as she was about to open her door, she heard, "Your Majesty, dinner will be served in the dining room when you're ready."

"Charlotte, I think I'll take my dinner in my room tonight, if that's alright."

"Oh. It's fine, ma'am. Just let me inform the kitchen staff?"

"Thank you, Charlotte."

...

Later that night Clarisse ate dinner in the solitude of her room. After, she took a long bath.

While she sat, the only noise in her room coming from the light classical music coming from the CD player that she had finally learned to work, she thought about the things that needed to be done before the state dinner. Amelia was progressing almost as well as Clarisse had hoped, however, she didn't know how the girl would do at a very formal event. She thought she would most likely be ready. She still had a few lessons before the big night.

Clarisse rose the next morning feeling better than she had the entire length of her stay so far. She chatted on the phone with her son for a good length of time before breakfast. It recharged her and prepared her for the day.

* * *

The rest of the week passed rather quickly, Clarisse thought. She was busy for most of it. Mia came day after day for her Princess Lessons. She was taught how to wave properly for one lesson. Then one day the pair had a review lesson on public speaking. One day, Clarisse and Amelia inspected the gardens, although, Clarisse noticed after that her granddaughter was reading a book, so she assumed she was not paying full attention to that day's lesson.

The weekend came, and went, and on Monday, Clarisse was pleasantly surprised to find that her schedule for the day only consisted of a bit of letter reading in the morning, and Princess Lessons in the afternoon.

Tuesday was an exhausting day, not only for Clarisse, but for Mia, and Helen as well.

It started off like any other morning. Clarisse was signing the papers that had accumulated in her red box overnight. Mia had gone off to school, and was due to come for Princess Lessons after.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Charlotte received a phone call from the Principal of Mia's school, Mrs. Gupta.

"Your Majesty!" Charlotte called as she rushed into Clarisse's office.

"Yes, Charlotte? What's wrong?" Clarisse asked, looking up from a letter from the Pear Growers Association inviting Clarisse to a sampling party, where she was to try their new pear jam. (Thankfully, she would not be in Genovia on that set date.)

"Princess Mia's school has just called. Someone leaked the story. Reporters met her this morning when she walked in."

It took Clarisse a moment to figure out what she was talking about.

"Leaked out the story?" She gasped, "Oh my God, Charlotte. They found out… but… how? No one else knows. I –I…" She took a moment to take a few deep breaths. After Clarisse regained composure, she calmly requested, "Charlotte, will you get in touch with the Principal of the school, please? Will you tell her that I will be coming to the school?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Oh, and call Paolo. Tell him that I would like him to come to Amelia's school. I need to speak with him."

Charlotte gave her a puzzled look. Clarisse nodded, and Charlotte set off to make a few phone calls.

...

Clarisse was thankful that Joseph was her bodyguard. He was sitting with her in the backseat, and was a calming influence on the Queen.

As they pulled up to the school, Clarisse felt Joseph give her hand a reassuring squeeze before he got out of the car to go and open her door. The people were so close the limo, that Clarisse could feel it moving back and forth. Joseph pushed them back a respectable distance before coming back to her.

"Oh, a limo. With _flags_!" Clarisse heard the reporters shouting before Joseph helped her out of the car. Immediately after she stepped out, she was surrounded my microphones, flashing lights, camera lenses, and questions. A tall, blonde practically jumped on Clarisse the minute she exited the vehicle. Clarisse ignored her. One particularly rude reporter had put his microphone right in front of her face. Joseph started in on him, but Clarisse simply took his microphone, and placed it in his shirt pocket. The reporter didn't know how to react. Joseph chuckled lightly in her ear.

"That was quite clever, Madame." Clarisse smiled. She felt Josephs hand gently caress her hip. She missed her next step, and her bodyguard protectively put his arm around her waist in case she should fall. Clarisse was a bit taken aback. She didn't know if she had imagined that, or if it was an accident. Or perhaps her beloved friend, who recently had stirred rather humiliating emotions in her, could feel the same way. She remembered the way he acted after they danced together; but that had been the first, and last time, so Clarisse dismissed the thought.

Helen was waiting for them outside the Principals office. Clarisse forced thoughts of Joseph out of her head, and focused on the task at hand.

"Hello, Helen."

"Hi Clarisse."

"How's Amelia?"

"She's a little freaked out and wants to come home. I can understand, but I think this is something she may have to get used to."

"She should stay here until the school day ends. If she chooses to accept her role as princess of Genovia, she will face these sort of things all the time."

"Right." Helen opened the door to the office, and ushered Clarisse and Joseph in. Mia turned to face them.

Clarisse felt her heart wrench. Her granddaughters face was tearstained, and her eyes puffy. If she had proved herself more of a proper grandmother when being introduced to Mia, she would have hugged her. It made Clarisse feel better that her maternal instincts hadn't left, and she wasn't some cold lady, who was immune to human emotion, and wouldn't wish to comfort her weeping granddaughter.

Clarisse wasn't able to go to Mia, because almost the instant she was in the office, a very excited lady, who had to be Principal Gupta, squealed, and scurried over, and bowed to Clarisse.

"Hello! I'm Principal Gupta! May I say what an honor it is to be in your presence, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, that's very kind. Thank you."

Principal Gupta walked over to Mia, and placed her hand on her head. "I am truly sorry about this, Your Highness. Poor Mia –reporters swamped the princess when she arrived at school. Myself and my two other colleagues, Miss Harbula, and Mr. O'Connell, sitting at that table," She pointed to the pair sitting at a round table, busily answering the numerous phone calls that kept coming in, "all worked to send them away."

Clarisse's eyes were fixed on Mia, who was slumped over in her chair, and looking at the floor. She could only imagine how the girl must feel.

"Did you see this?" Mia asked, holding up the day's newspaper that had been in her lap. On the front page, amongst the various other articles, in bold letters, the headline announced her true identity.

Clarisse sighed and walked over to her granddaughter. She took the paper from her and read the header again. Before she began reading the article, she looked around for a chair to sit in.

"Oh, sit here, Your Majesty." Principal Gupta said as she pulled out her rolling chair for Clarisse to sit in.

"Thank you, Principal Gupta."

While Clarisse read, Helen asked Mia if she told anyone about being a princess.

"I only told Lilly. But she promised not to tell anyone. She didn't even tell Michael."

"Well, Mia, anyone could have heard you."

"No. No, some guy with a leaf blower was the only other person who was around when I told her –and he had the thing turned on. But he was way too interested in… blowing leaves off the sidewalk."

"No one else heard? Lana?"

"Why would I tell Lana? She wouldn't have believed me. It would have been a huge joke, and I would have been made fun of even more than I already am."

"Who else could have done it? Are you _sure_ that no one else was there? No one was walking behind you?"

"No. No one was behind us. I'm sure no one else was there. Mom, I don't know who told on me."

"Well, we'll get to the bottom of this." Helen said reassuringly. Clarisse let out an exasperated sigh, as the put the paper down on the desk.

Principal Gupta, who had been flitting around making tea for Clarisse and Helen, collected the cups, and was bringing them over. Clarisse could hear the cup rattling against the saucer.

"Here's your tea, Your Majesty." Clarisse took the cup hastily from her shaking hands, for fear she'd spill. "I'm sorry we don't have finer china."

"Well, that's perfectly alright." She heard the Principals tone change, as she offered Helen a Styrofoam cup, and a short 'Here,' as she was given her tea. Clarisse picked up the saucer to take a sip, and found that tea had been spilled in the short trip from the counter, where it was made, to the desk. She mopped it up with a tissue.

Feeling a little more settled, having read the article, and now with her tea, she called for Joseph. He entered the room with Paolo. "Speak." Joseph ordered.

"Paolo?" Mia was surprised to see him.

Paolo looked at Clarisse, and began to defend himself.

"Majesty, it was I who told the press about you. Principessa I outed you. So to speak I don't mean to imply-" He moved toward Clarisse, but Joseph put out his arm to stop him. "Oh. Grazie."

"Prego." Joseph answered simply.

"Ah," Paolo looked at him, distracted for a moment. He redirected his thoughts. "But not for money, Principessa. Paolo hates money. He spits on money! There was no money. Well, there was some money. After all, a man like me," He looked at Joseph as if hoping he'd back him up, "each ring is-" He decided Joseph was not a Material Guy. "The point is, it was pride and ego that drove me to know that royalty would see one day the beauty was mine! The hair was mine!" Clarisse was waiting for him to start making sense again. She nodded and gave the illusion she was quite interested, and thought that he was making valid points. In all honesty, Clarisse thought Paolo was a schmuck, and she just wanted him to leave. She knew she was being un-queenly, but she could care less, at the moment. "That I, Paolo Puttanesca, was responsible for-" He took a step toward Clarisse, and was stopped once again by Joseph, "Grazie."

"Prego." Clarisse rolled her eyes and motioned for Joseph to escort Paolo out of the room. Paolo dithered in Italian for a moment, then looked at Clarisse. He resisted being pushed out of the door and into the sea of reporters that had flooded the hall outside the office. "By the way, your hair –magnificent! The next time we go a little lighter?" Joseph closed the door on him, and the cries from the people quieted.

Clarisse sat back in the chair, and took a sip of her tea. It tasted awful.

Principal Gupta, who had been surprisingly quiet, spoke up. "Isn't that just awful? Doesn't anyone respect royalty anymore?" Principal Gupta got on her knees, and got a bit to close to Clarisse for her comfort. "What's it like in Genovia, Your Majesty? Do people just… fawn over you?" Clarisse moved her chair over. She suspected if Principal Gupta could, she'd get up onto the chair, and sit in her lap. She needed to get the lady out of the room so she could speak with Mia and Helen about what actions should be taken.

"I wonder, would you give us a moment alone?"

"But… I'm the principal."

"Joseph, would you take this fine educator and show her your security plans for Amelia's safety?"

Joseph looked both confused and nervous. Security plans? He was not informed of this. "What?" When he saw Clarisse give him a nod and a slight smile, he realized what she was trying to do. "Ah, yes of course. Your security system is a bit lax."

"Oh, is it?" Principal Gupta asked as she and Joseph went out into the hallway to discuss the measures that now must be taken to protect the Princess at all times.

Once they had left, Helen was finally free to speak. "Clarisse, a week ago, Mia was a normal little kid."

"She was never 'normal.' She was born royal. And we cope with the press every single day, and we will do it again."

Helen wasn't listening to her. She looked at Mia and said, "You don't have to do this. You can get out of this whole thing right now."

Clarisse could see that she was trying to protect her daughter from the same thing that took her husband away from her. She could understand her wish, but Clarisse hoped she could understand that the country needed an heir to the throne. It needed the Renaldi bloodline to continue, and carry the crown. However, if Mia didn't want to do it, Clarisse would not force her. She had given her sons a choice, and she wanted to extend the same courtesy to her granddaughter.

"Your mother is right, Amelia. We had a bargain."

Mia had her back turned to her mother, and was looking at a picture hanging on the wall. She turned slowly to face them.

"Alright. I will think about it and let you know soon."

"Good, a diplomatic answer. Polite, but vague." Clarisse took in the sight of her granddaughter, who still looked shaken. "Are you alright, dear?"

"Uh, yeah. I kind of have a headache, though. I'm tired."

"I'd expect so. You didn't expect this."

"Yeah. I need a nap, or a long bath. Or both. Can I go home, Mom?"

"Er," Helen looked at Clarisse, "well, Mia. Your Grandmother and I think that you should stay in school."

Mia cast both of them a miserable glance. "Bu –Mom. I was just… outed!"

"Mia, Clarisse says that this is something you'll have to get used to. If you chose to be royal, these sort of things will happen all the time."

Mia slouched back into her seat. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. She grabbed her bag, rose to her feet and went to the door.

"Amelia, don't open-" Mia forgot about the reporters, and the instant she opened the door, the flashes started going off, and the crowd erupted in noise. She slammed the door closed.

"I forgot about them."

"Amelia, Joseph is going to stay with you today, and probably until further notice. As he said, the security here is lax. Now that it's out that you're royal, we need to be careful." Mia let out a groan and let her head hit the door.

"Joe?" She asked.

"Yes. He's the head of my security team. He'll keep you safe."

"I don't need to be babysat. I am almost sixteen. I can take care of myself."

"Amelia, I'd feel safer if he was with you. Now that its out that you're a princess, I would like you to be protected."

"I would too." Helen offered.

Mia rubbed her forehead. "Alright."

Clarisse picked up her purse from the floor, and took her jacket off the back of the chair. "We won't have Princess Lessons today. I think you've had enough. You should go home and rest. I'll see you tomorrow night at the dinner."

"See you tomorrow, Grandma."

As Clarisse passed her on the way to the door, she stopped and put her hand on Mia's shoulder.

"It's going to be OK, Amelia."


	10. Chapter Nine

The night of the state dinner was finally upon them; Amelia's night to show what she had learned in the few short weeks of lessons. When she had showed up after school, she was given three dresses to choose from. Clarisse had selected simple, but elegant pieces; she did not want her granddaughters first appearance to be overwhelming. "Wow, Grandma. I get to choose any one I want?" She asked, a large smile growing on her face.

Her excitement was a bit infectious. "Yes you do."

Mia went back and forth on which one to wear, but then she decided on a floor-length blue dress. It was the simplest one, but when she chose her jewelry to go with it, and put them on, Clarisse smiled; she looked simply lovely.

Clarisse would go down to dinner after her granddaughter, and for that, she was grateful. It gave her more time to ready herself, and observe from afar.

...

Clarisse stepped out from her bedroom having changed into her light blue dress.

"Ah, Regina mia! Might I say, you look lovely in that dress." She sighed. Paolo. The last person she wanted to see at this very moment.

"Thank you, Paolo." Clarisse replied icily as Paolo took her hand and she prepared herself mentally for the disgusting encounter with his mouth. Paolo seemed to sense her unease, because he dropped her hand and started asking what she had in mind for her hair and makeup.

"Well, obviously, there isn't much you can do with my hair, but I would like my makeup to look light –nothing too dramatic, please? Let's not have a repeat that Pear Picking Ceremony fiasco."

"Of course." He took a moment to look over her outfit, and then back at her face. "I have it. I know what to do!"

She watched her reflection in the mirror as Paolo brushed her short hair back and placed the tiara on her head. He flitted about selecting his tools and makeup.

After a long time, the two of them sitting in silence, Paolo tried to make conversation.

"Your Majesty, let me say, once again, how truly sorry I am for outing the princess' secret. I don't know what I was thinking. I will never forgive myself!"

Clarisse thought he was being a little overly dramatic, but accepted his apology. If he was apologizing now, it must have been on his mind since the meeting in the principal's office.

...

About twenty minutes later, Clarisse looked at her makeup in the mirror and smiled. Paolo had once again somehow seen her vision, and made it real.

"Thank you, Paolo." She smiled and extended her hand to him.

"You're welcome, Majesty." Paolo took her hand in his and bent forward to kiss it kissed it. Only a split second before his lips came to meet the skin on her hand, she remembered the horrible feeling he had left on it before. She cringed and braced herself.

Much to her relief, it was a very quick, and polite kiss. She sighed. Perfect.

...

Checking her appearance once more in the hall mirror before descending the stairs to the dining hall, she decided she was good to go. She had seen the design for this dress a month before she came to California, while trying to chose a gown for a wedding she was to attend later that year. She had fallen in love with the powder blue, empire-waist dress, but thought that it was much too fancy for the event that she was invited to. Then Clarisse had a thought, surely Mia could not be introduced to such a large crowd at the Independence Day ball; she would be beside herself. She needed a test-run; a bit of an Eliza-goes-to-Ascot-Week-before-the-ball sort of thing. One last look at her reflection, and she stepped down the stairs.

Clarisse was quite surprised to find the foyer was deserted –she felt a smile cross her face- all except for Joseph.

"Good evening, Joseph." She called to him as she made her way towards the hall where dinner was being served.

He turned to her. Clarisse watched him glance over her outfit, look to her face then smile. "Very pretty, Madame." He scanned her dress once more, slower this time. "Very, very pretty…" Joe took a step towards her, closing the distance between them. Reaching out, he softly placed a hand on her hip, and with the other tilted her chin up.

Clarisse felt her breath catch. No need for anymore doubt, she was sure Joseph shared her feelings. His face was coming closer to hers. Temptingly closer…

"Joseph… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I –I'm" She looked down. He lifted her face so he could look into her eyes.

"It's alright." She felt his warm breath brush past her lips. "I shouldn't have done that to you. I just –you've," He laughed nervously at himself, "I haven't felt this way in a long time."

Clarisse smiled. "I don't think I have _ever_ felt this way."

"You too? I thought I was alone."

"No. I knew since the moment you asked me to dance with you after Mia's lesson, but I didn't think you would feel the same for me."

"I do." He gently picked up her hand and kissed it.

...

"Her Majesty, Queen Clarisse." All the guests at the table rose, as Sebastian Motaz announced the arrival of the queen at dinner. The world seemed blurred to Clarisse. She felt like she was on autopilot; smiling at the guests, and telling them to sit –but her thoughts weren't with them. It was now clear that Joseph was feeling the same things for her. She felt so light and happy.

She was broken from her haze as she realized the Scottish Duke to her left began to talk to her. Feeling embarrassed because she hadn't heard what he said first she tried to cover up for herself.

"How are your children, Robbie?" She had remembered how proud he was of his son and daughter, and knew that was a safe topic.

"Oh, would you like to see them, ma'am?"

_Do I have a choice?_ Clarisse thought as he took the pictures out to show her. Clarisse rolled her eyes. This is exactly what she loathed: pretending to be interested, when she really wasn't.

"There's Ryan, and there's Bridget." Clarisse took the photos and examined them. They were very young; Bridget couldn't have been over a year old, and her brother, Ryan, looked about three.

"Ooh, they're beautiful." Clarisse replied truthfully. "Would you like to see?" She offered the pictures to the Emperor of Japan. He shook his head, and Clarisse returned them to Robbie.

Clarisse listened as the Duke and Duchess went on about their two children. From the corner of her eye she saw something flickering and turned just in time to see Mia shoving Lord Frickers arm in the ice bucket and pouring water on it. _Oh, God. Were those flames?_

"That's their princess." Clarisse felt a wave of anger. Baron VonTroken: the man hoping to steal the Genovian crown away from the Renaldi's and Clarisse despised him. He was rude, sarcastic, and believed he and his wife were better suited to run her beloved country.

Clarisse caught Mia's eye, and she discreetly beckoned her over.

"It's amazing. It seems only yesterday they were babies." The Scottish Duchess said to Clarisse.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Clarisse said to the Duchess before turning her attention to her granddaughter at her side.

"Hi. You wanted to see me?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Um. Yes."

Clarisse wasn't too convinced. "What was happening with the ice bucket?"

"Oh." Mia hesitated. "I –I just had a little… clumsy moment."

"OK." Clarisse held her gaze for a second longer, then looked away.

"The food's delicious, by the way." Mia said just before walking back to her seat.

...

The rest of dinner passed without too much crisis. There was a moment when Mia ate her sorbet too fast, and Clarisse was relieved and amused to see the Prime Minister, and his wife cover her by making a scene.

Just as the pear and cheese course started, however, trouble began again. A series of events, caused by a single grape escaping Mia's plate, took shape. Clarisse thought that this was, indeed the kiss of death, and hid her face in her hands as a bunch of grapes landed in the Japanese Emperors lap. Suddenly he began to laugh and Clarisse looked up at him, astonished. Next she heard the Scottish Duchess laugh. The very next thing she knew, the entire table was laughing. Clarisse was quite embarrassed and couldn't really see the humor in it. However, she, as queen, had to put her best foot forward. She laughed along with them, and put her embarrassment out of her mind.

Feeling the moment was right, Clarisse asked, "Shall we adjourn to the Grand Hall for coffee?"

...

The Grand Hall was abuzz with conversation and the twinkling of coffee cups against saucers. Clarisse was busily mingling with her guests when she realized she hadn't seen her granddaughter in a while.

She hastily beckoned Joseph over to her. In an instant, he was at her side. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Have you seen Mia? Did she come in with us?"

Joseph looked around the room, and then back at his queen. "I'll check the dining room, ma'am."

"Thank you."

...

Mia looked up as she felt the tablecloth move. Joseph's kind face was smiling in at her.

"Your grandmother is looking for you, Princess."

Mia wiped at a tear that was currently sliding down her cheek. "Joe, I screwed everything up. I always wreck everything!" She hid her face in her arms, and continued to cry.

"Come, now. You don't wreck everything. It's your first fancy dinner, and you were just nervous. Your grandmother doesn't love you less because of it. She knows you're learning." Mia sniffed and looked up at Joseph. "Princess, everyone makes mistakes-"

"But I make so many!" Mia said, as fresh tears broke out.

Joseph reached forward to wipe them away. "No more crying." Trying to cheer her up, he added, "You'll make your makeup run."

"Now I'm wrecking my makeup." She said a little angrily, as she quickly wiped at her face.

Kneeling on the ground, Joseph looked at his young charge. She was the future queen of Genovia –well, if she decided to be- but she was so unsure of herself. He felt sorry for the poor girl. Only a few days ago she believed she was normal, now she had the burden of being a princess. "Would you like to stay here?"

"No. Grandma will be mad."

"I'll take care of it, princess. Don't worry." Joseph smiled and let the tablecloth fall again.

...

As he reentered the Grand Hall, Clarisse excused herself from a conversation with the Prime Minister.

"Is she alright? Where is she?"

"She is fine, Your Majesty, but she is quite tired from her long day at school, and has requested to leave early."

"Oh." Clarisse sighed. "I suppose that is alright. She has had a rather long day, and it's getting late. Yes, she may go home. Please also remind her about her lesson tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am."

...

After the last cup of coffee had been drained, and the last guest departed, Clarisse looked around the ballroom. It had been a good night, when all was said and done. Mia had made a few mistakes during the course of the evening, but covered for herself nicely. All the guests said that the grape throwing was the highlight of the evening, and that Mia was so down-to-earth, and humble and beautiful.

Charlotte quietly entered the room with her cell phone and organizer in each hand. "Your Majesty, everything is set for you to retire for the evening. Will you be needing anything else?"

"No thank you, Charlotte. I'm quite alright. Have a good night."

"Thank you. Good night."

A soft breeze was coming in through the open doors, and it tickled the back of Clarisse's neck. She smiled softly. Summer was one of the most wonderful times, in her opinion. She was lost in her own world, when a voice broke her bliss.

"The Princess is safe at home, Your Majesty." She turned to look at Joe.

Sweet Joseph. She felt her heart leap at the sight of him, and longed to be close.

"Thank you so much for looking out for her, Joseph. It truly means so much to me."

"Well, she's quite easy too look after." He stated, slowly crossing the room towards her. "She's smart, caring, helpful, polite… just like her grandmother." Clarisse smiled, and brought her hand up to his cheek. "You look so beautiful tonight, Clarisse."

"Oh, Joseph…" She could feel her cheeks blushing, and looked away.

He reached out, putting his hands on her waist and drawing her closer to him. "You are, Clarisse. In my life, I have never known someone so beautiful, and wonderful as you." And with that, Joe leaned forward, and declared his for love for Clarisse, with a simple but tender kiss.


	11. Chapter Ten

The next day passed by in a haze for Clarisse. All she could think about was the previous night. The kiss had been brief and nothing earth shattering, yet it had put her in a wonderful mood. She was in such a good mood, that she wasn't upset when Mia arrived late for her lesson.

"Your Majesty, the Princess has just arrived. Would you like her to wait in your office?"

"No, no, Charlotte. She can come in here. I don't know how much longer it will take to spray all these flowers."

Mia was strangely quiet, which made Clarisse wonder if she was alright. She thought maybe she was tired from being up so late the night before. Deciding she'd worked hard for the past few weeks, Clarisse thought that an easy lesson would be nice. Perhaps the pair could simply talk.

Clarisse watched Mia look through the greenhouse windows at the gardeners busily installing a fountain.

"You're putting another fountain in?"

"Yes. I thought it would be nice for the Ball."

"But there's one over there." She stated, pointing towards the small fountain in the corner.

"I know, but I went to visit the Japanese Embassy, and they had the most magnificent fountain in the middle of their indoor botanical garden. It was absolutely beautiful, and completely took my breath away. I asked Charlotte why we couldn't have one. Then she showed me that unimpressive, birdbath in the corner." Clarisse motioned to the very little fountain. "I decided that we should have two small ones, but I couldn't find any that would suit my idea for the garden. So, we all decided that one would fit perfectly. Charlotte's done a wonderful job arranging for all these flowers to come in. She's had gardeners and landscapers in every day. They've overseen everything, and have done a wonderful job, I think. And this greenhouse –this place was such a mess when I first arrived. I've been spending every spare moment in it that I can." Clarisse realized that she was talking a lot. It was unlike her to be this chatty, and she wondered if Mia was beginning to think something was up. She turned to look at her granddaughter, who was playing with a leaf on a flower. "Pick up one of these; make yourself useful. Spray everything."

Mia picked up a spray bottle, "You're not still mad at me for what happened?"

"Actually, I found it rather funny. It reminded my of my first royal dinner party. I accidentally knocked over a suit of armor, and the spear went _right_ through the suckling pig." Clarisse laughed at the memory, and hoped it would make her granddaughter less self-conscious. It didn't work, for when she looked back at her, she was absentmindedly spraying the flowers on the windowsill.

Clarisse thought that after last night, Mia probably needed a break. She was under a lot of stress, and most likely didn't want Clarisse shoving more information at her. Truth-be-told, after her encounter with Joseph, Clarisse didn't feel like boring her granddaughter –as well as herself. "Amelia, why don't we cancel lessons for today, and just have some fun."

She watched Mia's face light up. "Fun? You mean you're not, like, too busy for something like that?"

As if on cue, Charlotte entered, updating Clarisse with everything that was happening for the afternoon, and evening. "Your Majesty, Lady Jerome has just arrived, and the French Consulate's Assistant is on hold –he wants to confirm tonight's dinner."

Clarisse looked at Mia, and saw her face fall, and turn back to the waiting flowers. She decided that today Mia's needs were more important than anyone else's. "Send my apologies, and cancel everything for today." Mia turned to her, with a look of disbelief on her face, "I'm being shown San Francisco by a true San Franciscan. Tell Joseph I'll need the car."

"Oh, wait!" Mia said excitedly. "I want to show you my baby!"

Clarisse gasped, and Charlotte looked around the room nervously. "Your baby?"

"Yes. I mean, you helped pay for it, so you should see it! It's pretty cool." Seeing the look on her grandmother's face she said, "It's a car, Grandma. My Mustang. What did you think I was talking about?"

"Oh, er –nothing. Shall we go?"

"Sure. This will be a lot of fun. Thank you, Grandma."

...

About a half hour later, Clarisse found herself in a small car garage, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"_This_ is your Mustang?" Clarisse looked at the car. It was not the prettiest thing she'd ever seen.

"Yup." Mia lovingly stroked the steering wheel. "My mom got it for me. It's great." She looked up at Clarisse. "Aren't you getting in? I'm a good driver, I promise."

Hesitantly, Clarisse opened the door. She sat down in the car, and carefully pulled her scarf up over her head.

"Buckle up. 'Click It, or Ticket', you know." She smiled, as she pulled her own safety belt snugly over herself.

Clarisse pulled the belt down, and heard Mia turn on the ignition. In silent prayer, she watched Mia shift the car, and pull out onto the street.

True to her word, Mia was a fairly good driver, and considering her car was not an automatic, she was doing better than Clarisse could have done. After a short while Clarisse eased up and began to enjoy the ride.

The sights were spectacular, especially the view from The Golden Gate Bridge. Clarisse turned to her granddaughter, "You know, I haven't sat in the front seat of a car in the longest time!"

"By the way, thanks for the money for my car, Grandma. I didn't think I'd ever be able to put it on the road. It was a good incentive to go to Princess Lessons all the time."

"I'm glad I could assist." It dawned on Clarisse she didn't know where they were going. "So, where are you taking me?"

"Well, do you have any change?"

"No. It's not appropriate for royalty to jingle."

Mia smiled, "OK. I'll get the change. You just have fun today."

They pulled up in front of a building that in Clarisse's opinion looked rather run down. "What's this?" She asked.

"Well, this is an arcade. Ever been to one?"

"Er, no."

"Well, there are games inside."

"I know _what_ an arcade is."

"I think you'll like this." She led Clarisse inside. A young boy with bright red hair, holding juggling balls, and wearing a coin belt, greeted them.

"Oh hey, Mia. What's up?"

"Hi Jeremiah. I'm taking my Grandma around. Grandma, this is Jeremiah and he works here. We go to school together."

"How do you do?" Clarisse asked.

"It's nice to meet you... Your Majesty? Is that what I say? I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. She's 'in cognito' today."

"Awesome!" He said, "Oh, check this out." He proceeded to pull a coin out from behind Mia's ear. "Lilly loved that one."

"Mmhmm…" Mia replied. She sounded a bit unimpressed. "You're definitely getting better. Well, we could chat all day, but I am going to show my Grandma around."

"Sure. Have fun."

"See you later!" Aside to Clarisse she said, "He's really sweet, but he's not great at magic –he's so much better at writing- but we try and encourage him, you know. Oh, this one's my favorite!" She started steering Clarisse towards a rather beat up bust of a wrestler. "What you do is you put a quarter in, and you grab his hand."

"I touch that?" Clarisse thought of all the people who had put their hands on it, and how little, if at all, it must have been washed.

"Yes. You touch that –and then you press the button and you, uh," Mia rolled he eyes as her grandmother wiped the surface, "And you just go!"

"OK." She looked up at the worn metal face of the figure. "It looks like Rupert's cousin from Liechtenstein." She mused out loud. "Now, how do I know when it's ready?"

"It'll just go."

"It will?" Just then it started to move, and it was incredibly strong.

"There it goes!"

Through her pain, she faintly heard Mia shouting encouragement. All Clarisse could do was shout 'Ow' and hope she didn't receive bodily harm. Clarisse quickly removed her hand, and massaged her shoulder. She looked around the arcade, and saw Mia's friend quickly turn away, suppressing a laugh. "You enjoy this humiliation?" Clarisse asked uncomfortably.

"Well, it's hard the first time, but you can do it again." Mia said.

Clarisse wanted to prove to her granddaughter that she wasn't weak, so she decided to go up against the challenge one more time. "Hold this." She handed her purse to Mia and slapped the green 'go' button on the counter. Bracing herself she said quietly, "I'm ready for you this time." The machine started up again, and Clarisse grabbed it with both of her hands.

"You're doing it! You're doing it! You're doing it! Go!" Clarisse shouted in triumph when she managed to pin the arm to the opposite side. "Oh, yes! Got it! Give me five."

"Five?"

"Five." Mia held up her hand motioning for her to do the same.

Abuzz from her small victory, Clarisse allowed Mia to bring her around the room, and show her a few more interesting games. It made Clarisse happy to know that she was spending this time bonding with her granddaughter. She was a lot more outgoing away from the consulate.

"Oh. We have to do this!"

"What is it?" Clarisse asked eying the booth in front of her.

"It's a photo booth. It's a lot of fun. It takes four little pictures, and puts them onto a long strip of paper. Come on."

Clarisse sat next to Mia inside the booth.

"OK. So, you look here, and it will take the picture. Ready?"

"Here?" Clarisse pointed to the screen, just as it flashed, indicating it had taken a picture. "That wasn't a good picture-"

"There's three more. Ready? Here it goes, make a face! You gotta be quick!"

Clarisse got the hang of it, and for the last picture, Mia said they'd take a nice one.

Two minutes later, the pictures dropped down into a slot, and Mia quickly picked them up. She passed them to Clarisse, and she had a good laugh. "I want one of these." She looked at the first and most horrendous picture of herself, "Just not this one." She ripped off the picture of the two of them smiling, and handed the rest to Mia.

...

The afternoon had turned out to be a lot of fun, and Mia concluded that after all of the excitement, she needed some food. She steered Clarisse towards a vendor across from the arcade.

"Do you want anything, Grandma?"

"No thank you." Clarisse was distracted by the pretty view of the ocean.

"Can I have one corndog, please?" Mia reached into her pocket to pull out her wallet.

"Let me." Clarisse opened her purse and pulled out her credit card. Mia and the vendor looked at her ironically.

"Thanks, Grandma, but they don't take credit cards. I've got it, don't worry." She handed the vendor some money, and took her food from him.

After Mia had applied, in Clarisse's opinion, far too much mustard to her food, they walked to a stone wall that overlooked the water.

"This is absolutely gorgeous." Clarisse breathed.

"I know. I love coming here." She breathed in the salty air, smiled, and then turned to lean on the wall.

Clarisse watched the water for a while, before turning to lean on the wall, herself.

"So," Mia broke the silence a few moments later, "did my father always want to be a prince?"

"Oh yes. Well, except once, about fifteen years ago. He seriously considered renouncing his title because he met a lovely artist who showed him wonderful things about how life could be… How he could be."

"But?" Mia added, knowing the story wasn't over.

Clarisse wasn't sure how much Mia knew about the circumstances leading to her parents divorce. "But, he had a decision to make, and nobody could make it for him. Not I –though many people thought I did- or anyone else." Mia felt a twinge of guilt. Just days before she had accused her grandmother of being the reason for her parents divorce.

Clarisse pressed on, "Philippe knew that, my first born, his brother Pierre, wanted to abdicate, to join the church –which he did, eventually. Your father realized that the love he could have for one person –or even two," Clarisse smiled at Mia, "could not make him forget the love he felt for his country, and its people. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do."

With a new perspective on the topic of her parents divorce, Mia was at a loss for words. "Um… oh…" Figuring there was no easy way to change the subject, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Do you want a bite of this?" She asked, offering her corndog.

"Why not?" She took a deep breath, and hoped it wasn't as terrible as it looked. "Well, here goes." With the first bite, she wasn't quite sure how she felt. As she chewed, she realized that she really didn't like it. However, she heard herself saying, "Why –it's delicious!"

"Really? Oh, OK! Well, then, let's get another one." Mia hurried away, and walked up the vendor. Clarisse watched in disbelief. She was going to have to eat a whole one. How would she manage? "Here you are. It's nice and hot."

It took Clarisse close to twenty minutes to stuff the corndog down. She hoped that it didn't show that she disliked it.

...

"I know it's the fastest way back to the consulate, but I hate this hill!"

The car bucked all the way up the hill. With each one, Clarisse began to feel more and more sick. "I do believe I'm beginning to feel that corn dog." She put her hands on her face, fighting against a wave of nausea. "Maybe you could just sneak gently through?" Clarisse half offered, half begged.

"OK. OK, I'll try."

"Good. Right, now blaze on up." Clarisse hadn't driven in a long time, but she thought she could to guide her granddaughter up the large hill.

"I –I got it!"

"Yes, you've got it."

"I –I –I got it!"

"Yes you've got it!" Clarisse exclaimed, glad she'd soon be able to throw up in peace.

Just then, the car jerked violently, and stalled, sending Clarisse back against her seat. Apparently, she wasn't very good at teaching someone how to drive.

"Oh, I haven't got it!" The car began to roll backwards down the hill.

"Uh-oh! Mia, break! Break! Down here!" As she pulled on the emergency break, it came clear out of the car. It was no use, as the car slammed into the passing trolley.

The driver was furious, yelling, "You didn't hear the bell! What's wrong with you? I can't believe this!"

Mia massaged her neck, and took off her sunglasses. "Oh, my God." She opened the door and got out of the car. She cursed quietly, "I can't believe that! I just –the car –so much money… and time!"

Clarisse couldn't hear her very well. The nausea had returned with a vengeance and she thought she could feel a massive headache forming. She leaned back in her seat and forced herself to gain control.

"Are you alright, Grandma?" Clarisse opened her eyes to see Mia leaning on the passenger door, looking at her concernedly.

"I'll be fine. I think I hurt my neck, though."

"Yeah, I think I may have too. I will be fine, though. I don't think I can say the same for my car, though. Oh, my God. My mom is going to kill me.

"Mia, it was an accident, I'm sure she'll understand." Mia let out a small cry of frustration and turned away from Clarisse.

Just then, the trolley driver came over to Mia, and began to yell at her.

"We use the bell for a reason! You and the rest of those damn teenagers need to learn how to use the road! You aren't the only ones on it!"

With that, Clarisse quickly got out of the car, and rushed to defend her granddaughter. "Excuse me! How dare you blame her? It was an accident, it could have happened to anybody." She looked at Mia, who was wiping at a tear that was rolling down her face.

"Listen, Lady, I will have you know-" The trolley driver was pointing his finger at her, and she didn't want to think about what he would have done next, had the police not shown up just then.

"What's going on?" He asked, looking questioningly at the trolley driver. He looked over at Mia, who was still clutching the emergency break, and trying to keep her tears at bay. "Are you alright, miss? Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm just shaken, I guess." Mia said shakily.

"What about you, ma'am?" He asked Clarisse.

"I think I'm alright. I just have a headache."

"Why don't you two go get checked over, while I talk to this gentleman."

Two EMT's escorted Clarisse and Mia over to a waiting ambulance, while the police officer stayed behind with the trolley driver.

On the bright side, Clarisse had bonded with her granddaughter, and she wasn't feeling sick anymore. On the dark side, though, she was being inspected by an EMT, and would probably have to go to the hospital for a proper check up. To boot, she hadn't told Joseph she was going to be driving around, unsupervised in a new city, with a fifteen-year-old chaperone. He was going to be beside himself.

When Clarisse and Mia had walked back to the car, the police officer came over to them.

"Alright, I'm going to need to see your license and registration, please."

Mia looked at the ground and muttered something incoherent.

"Sorry?"

"I… don't have a license."

Clarisse gasped. "You don't have your license? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I have my permit. I just needed a licensed driver in the front seat."

"Oh, well this isn't a problem, then. I have my license." She pulled her wallet out of her purse. The policeman looked from her license to her, with a look of disbelief. "This is probably the worst fake ID I've ever seen-"

"It's not a fake ID."

"Where are you from?"

"Genovia. I don't think everyone's license looks like that, but the royal family has been given different ones. Ours don't expire."

"In all my years on the force, I've certainly never heard that one."

"I don't know how I can prove to you that it's real."

"Genovia… that sounds a bit familiar. Let me get on the radio. I'll be back in just a moment."

A short while later, when everything had been settled and the policeman had been informed by his headquarters that Clarisse was indeed, a queen, they began the legal aspects of the accident.

"Put down destruction of public property!" The trolley conductor added, to Mia's list of offences.

"I will, I will…" he assured the man. "And last, but not lease, driving without a license. Accompanied by an adult whose license expired forty-five years ago." He had explained that even though her license was valid in her country, they didn't accept it here.

"I've been trying to tell you, Officer. Licenses don't expire in Genovia. Not for the queen! Don't I have diplomatic immunity?"

"You do. But her," he pointed to Mia, "we have to take downtown."

"What?" Mia exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, miss."

"It's alright, Officer. I understand. I understand perfectly." Clarisse said.

"You do?" Mia sounding extremely offended.

"Mia." Clarisse calmly said, "No town, no city, no country can function peacefully if its officers and transportation engineers don't follow the letter of the law. Why, I would be proud to have two such fine, honorable gentlemen serving in Genovia."

Clarisse wasn't exactly sure of what she was going to do next, but the two men were clearly too flattered to care about arresting Mia. Quickly improvising, Clarisse made up an order of Genovia, and dubbed the two men masters of it. Mia was clearly impressed, because when the police officer offered the pair a ride home, she flashed a huge smile.

The ride back to the consulate was a quiet one. Mia had called her mother to pick her up, and said she'd explain everything later. When they arrived, Mia noticed Helen was waiting outside.

"She's going to be mad." She sighed.

"Now, remember, she's just yelling because she's scared and upset. In a little while, she won't be mad."

"My mom isn't the yelling type, Grandma. She just gets disappointed. Which is worse, you know?"

"I do know. It will be alright, though."

Mia got out of the car and walked over to her mother. Helen gave her a tight hug and spoke too quietly for Clarisse to hear. Her face, true to Mia's word, wasn't showing anger. Just disappointment and relief.

As Clarisse started to walk up the steps, Helen asked, "Are you alright, Clarisse?"

"Oh, I'll be fine. Nothing a few aspirin won't fix." She smiled at the two.

"Well, let's get you home, Mia. You could probably use a rest."

"Bye Grandma. I'm sorry your tour didn't end well."

"It was a very unconventional way to show a person around a city, but I rather enjoyed it."

As Clarisse was ushered through the doors of the consulate, the desk clerk stopped her.

"Your Majesty, Joseph would like to speak with you."

"Oh, dear. Thank you. Will you ask him to meet me in my office, please?"

Mia had been upset that she was going to have to endure her mother's disappointment; Clarisse wished she could trade places with her right now.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Clarisse wrung her hands together, the drums of doom pounding in her head. She had seen Joseph angry before, and had never wished to receive his wrath. Her actions today would, no doubt, have put him into a foul mood. She had convinced Charlotte that everything would be alright, and she needn't inform Joseph they were leaving.

_"But Your Majesty, should you be out with no security? What if something happens?" Charlotte asked timidly._

"_I trust Amelia, I know I will be fine. I'll be able to travel 'in cognito'. It will be wonderful and freeing." The wild and spirited streak she possessed as a girl was rearing its head. "Besides, I will be back before Joseph even knows I'm gone. It will be just this once. A secret between you and I."_

_Charlotte knew that not only was the Queen's safety on the line without security, but so was her job. She was truly devoted to Clarisse, but she also knew she needed to pay her rent and bills. "I-"_

"_Charlotte, please?" Clarisse stopped her. "When I'm in Genovia, I can't go into my own garden without someone following me. I'm constantly under surveillance. Can you imagine never having a moment to be alone? To explore?"_

_Something inside Charlotte was telling her this wasn't a good idea, but looking into Clarisse's face made it hard to say no. The Queen was right; she couldn't imagine not having a moment's peace._

"_OK, I will keep this a secret. But please-"_

"_Everything will be wonderful, Charlotte! I will be back in no time."_

_Clarisse felt like she'd been let out of school early, and left quickly to change and gather her granddaughter._

She heard brisk footsteps approaching and felt the butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach –and these were not the good kind of butterflies.

Joseph walked swiftly into the room and shut the door behind him without saying a word. He turned, his green eyes meeting her blue eyes. She had been expecting to see anger in his them, but if she was not mistaken, they showed relief.

She stepped out from behind her desk, where she had been standing. For so long, she had used her desk as a way of barricading herself against the world. When she was faced with an obstacle, she'd let her carefully built wall protect her. The desk was a conscious, yet subconscious way to keep distance between others and her. She didn't want to keep this man at arm's length.

"Joseph," She spoke softly and gently.

He held up his hand and closed the distance between the two of them. He had had every intention of giving her a piece of his mind. Joseph left no room for mistakes when it came to security yet somehow the Queen went out into the world with a teenager and no other protection. He was furious, terrified and relieved all at once. The news that Clarisse and Mia had been in a car accident had shocked him to the core.

_His cell phone vibrated next to the stack of security papers he was looking over. He looked down at the caller ID._

"_Yes Charlotte, what can I do for you?" He had started to grow very fond of Charlotte since they arrived in San Francisco. She was very organized and had her priorities straight. She was a hard worker and he really admired that. She was a good person and he thoroughly enjoyed her company._

_ Charlotte had seen the way Joe was looking at the Queen while they danced the other day. She saw the way his eyes softened when he spoke about her; saw how gentle he was with her, and how truly devoted he was. She also saw the way her Majesty seemed to relax when he was in her presence, how the tone of her voice changed when she spoke to him, and the way he was melting her heart._

_ "Joe," she began slowly, "There's been an accident. The Queen and Princess Mia."_

_ Joe's heart stopped. "What? How? Are they hurt?" They left without him knowing? How had this happened?_

_ "The Princess said they were fine. They're getting a ride back with the police Sergeant."_

_ Anger surged through his veins. "Why were they out with no security?"_

_ "Th- Well. Uh. The Princess wanted to take her grandmother out. Her Majesty assured me everything would be fine. They only wanted to be gone a little over an hour. I'm so sorry."_

_ Joe was barely listening as many emotions hummed through him. He had to go outside and calm down. "Charlotte, let me know when the queen comes back. I want to talk to her." He hung up and stood, loosening his tie and removing it. He walked quickly outside, hoping he encountered no one. He was so angry with himself; what if something happened to Clarisse? What would he have done? He had every intention of letting her know exactly what he was feeling when she returned._

One look into Clarisse's eyes and all thought of admonishment flew from his mind. He was no longer the Head of Security furious with his Queen for making him look like a fool; he was a man who was relieved that the woman he was in love with was unharmed.

He surprised himself, and her, when he kissed her deeply on the lips. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, and rested his forehead against hers, relief flooding every inch of his body.

"I'm so sorry." She said quietly.

"I'm just thankful that you and the Princess are fine." He sighed again, and kissed her lightly. He put his forehead against hers once more, and closed his eyes. He allowed himself to breathe in her scent just a moment longer before relaxing his hold on her. She carefully stepped back an inch to give herself some space; all this touching and kissing and holding was going to take a bit of adjusting to. She couldn't complain, it felt lovely, but she wasn't used to it yet.

The two talked the situation over, and finally agreed to try and forget that the incident occurred, and to move forward and focus on the next task at hand. Clarisse knew that she had many meetings coming up, and had the ball to prepare for. It was five days away and there were dresses to be fitted, food and music to be selected, guest lists to check over, and the garden was finally coming along. With a little more supervision, it would be a fairytale. Joseph and Charlotte were just as busy; prepping the security team, making sure the consulate was in tip-top order and double-checking every aspect for that night.

Princess Lessons became more intense, and Clarisse vowed to give Mia as much guidance as she could between her Friday afternoon lesson, and the ball on Tuesday night. Her plans were somewhat halted when her granddaughter burst into the consulate in a sea of chatter.

After assuring Clarisse that she was in no way harmed from the previous day's little incident, she informed her grandmother that she would not be able attend her lesson the following afternoon.

"Oh? And why is that?"

It suddenly dawned on Mia that her grandmother may disapprove of the Baker Beach party. And she would most definitely not approve of Josh Bryant taking her as his date. Clarisse had learned a great deal about her granddaughter in the past two weeks, and she knew how she felt about Josh, but knew how he and his friends treated her. Mia knew that she could not tell her where she was really going.

"I completely forgot that I promised Lilly that I would go on her cable show tomorrow night. She asked me on the day that Paolo 'outed' me. She wants to do my first interview." Mia made a quick mental note to remember to call Lilly and tell her that she wouldn't be able to make it. Otherwise there would be hell to pay; Lilly was not renown for her unconditional understanding.

"I see. And I suppose you'll wish to sleep in tomorrow morning."

"Well, yeah. I mean, I get up early for school everyday, I need weekend mornings to veg out." Clarisse looked at her quizzically. "It means be still like vegetables. Lay like broccoli."

"Ah! I see. So with that being said, we had best get to work now. We can't afford to lose anymore time."

Mia inwardly groaned, but knew she had to apply herself because tomorrow she'd be on the arm of the most beautiful boy in the world; a reward for a job well done. She focused as hard as she could on all the things her grandmother was telling her, even if occasionally she'd fantasize about the night, piece together her outfit from her mental wardrobe, think about what would happen if he kissed her, or what life would be like as his girlfriend.

A good portion of the lesson was spent teaching Mia how to waltz. She had a basic idea what she'd be doing after learning the Wango, so it was somewhat easier than the last time. Joseph had the patience of a saint as Mia occasionally stumbled, tread on his foot, or forgot what step came next in sequence.

Clarisse felt like a broken record, calling out reminders, "Mia, count _inside_ your head." "Smaller steps." "Relax your shoulders." "Stand up straight." "Watch that turn." "No, Mia, let Joseph lead you."

Mia thought her head would soon explode. On the bright side, her grandma wasn't constantly snapping "Amelia!" which she had secretly hated. She was calling her "Mia" ever since their outing together, when she had asked why she was insisting on calling her "Amelia".

"Grandma, I'm kind of a visual learner. Maybe you could show me first, and then that would be more helpful. You said you liked dancing with Joe, and you have to be good after dancing for so many years. Please?"

Clarisse looked at Joseph who smiled gently at her. She got up and walked over to him. "Will you start the music over for us, please?" Joseph extended her his hand, and they began to dance.

Mia sat down in the chair that her grandmother had been sitting on and watched the pair dance across the room. She had never seen Clarisse dance, and she had to admit she was really very good. Mia smiled; they seemed to float, probably from years of dancing together. She had never noticed how truly beautiful her grandma was, and she sincerely hoped she could be as marvelous a person as she.

Something about the way the two of them looked into each other's eyes, and the way they moved together made Mia feel she was watching something private. She knew they were very close friends, but for some reason she sensed an electricity that seemed almost palpable. What was with the two of them? Were they together and Mia wasn't aware? She turned in her chair, and craned her neck to see the Grandfather Clock in the other room; how much longer did she have before she went home?

The cord from the CD player had somehow wrapped itself around her leg, and when she turned her body, the little machine crashed to the ground. She gasped loudly, not expecting the sudden noise. She shouldn't have been surprised that had happened, because she was so clumsy, but she was.

Clarisse had almost forgotten that Mia was still in the room, and was pulled back to reality with a startling crash that neither she nor Joseph had expected.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was stuck to me!" Mia hastily picked up the CD player and inspected it. Placing it down on the table she pressed the button to see if it would still play. "It didn't break! That's so fortunate." Clarisse took the moment to catch her breath after the sudden loud noise, and Joseph, still holding her, squeezed her hand.

Minor accidents aside, the rest of the lesson went very well. The day ended with the pair getting fitted for their gowns. Mia was in love with her gown, and had picked the material herself from a large selection of fabric bolts that had been brought in for her. She had chosen a pretty simple design, despite the seamstress's suggestions at a more luxurious material and a fancier dress pattern. "This is more me." She had simply stated.

As the final alterations were being made, Mia looked at herself in the floor-length mirror. In the past few weeks she felt herself growing as a person. Perhaps this was the best thing to ever happen to her. She would have never imagined she'd be here getting a gown made for her to wear to a ball in honor of her accepting the throne to a small European country. And she would have never imagined she'd be going on a date with the hottest boy she had ever seen.

As she bid her grandmother goodnight she felt somewhat guilty about lying to her. On the other hand, she was ecstatic about the party. How would Clarisse ever find out she was at the beach? She couldn't. She wouldn't. Everything was going to be so perfect and special, she couldn't wait.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Saturday afternoon was supposed to be one of Mia's final Princess Lessons in San Francisco, but she had overbooked and was instead going to appear on her friend Lilly's cable show. Or so Clarisse thought.

Clarisse was rather glad to have her afternoon free, because it gave her time to get more work done; there was always so much to do and so little time to get it all done. She was looking forward to the reprieve from her work tonight when she watched Mia's first television appearance.

By late evening she settled herself in front of the television with a large mug of tea and her needlepoint (which she had been seriously neglecting). She had just enjoyed a quiet dinner and a relaxing bath and felt ready to finish this week in San Francisco and hopefully return home with a new heir to the throne. Everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Clarisse waited for Mia and was saddened when she never made it. Where was she? She'd have to call over to her house in the morning and find out what was happening.

...

There was no need to call over to the house the next morning because Clarisse found out where Mia had been. And so did all of San Francisco.

Clarisse was fuming when Mia came to the Consulate to speak with her. The girl looked tired and sad, and was teetering on the verge of tears. She sat across from Clarisse at the desk in her office and looked at her hands in her lap. She had fallen back onto her old habit of biting her nails and had torn apart her nicely manicured hands last night.

"Grandma I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you, I shouldn't have lied to Lilly, or to Michael and I should have never gone to that party. I wasn't thinking of anyone but myself and that's not very 'Princessly' of me." Mia finally looked up at Clarisse, "I was up pretty much all night and… I think that I'm not meant to be a princess. You said that I had until the ball to make my decision and my decision is that I can't do it."

Inwardly, Clarisse felt like someone had just tied her stomach in a knot. Outwardly, she kept her calm and queenly demeanor in place, thankful for the years of practice –she had been hoping this wasn't the path Mia was going to take. She was thinking of what to say when Charlotte entered the room with the most recent newspaper.

"Your Majesty, here's the morning paper. It's on the front page. And that reporter woman is outside with her crew."

"Thank you, Charlotte." Clarisse replied, her voice clear and even, despite the fact that she felt like her heart had leapt up into it. She took the paper from her and saw Mia's face turn a deep shade of pink, and watched the tears start to form. Unable to look at her granddaughter's face, Clarisse began to read the article. How could Mia be so careless? Her lack of common sense was making Clarisse feel sick. She hoped Mia understood the consequences of her actions.

"Please say something." Mia quietly pleaded after sitting in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"Well, there's not much to say. 'A picture is worth 1,000 words' and you have _two_ pictures." She looked at the picture of Mia kissing that Josh boy, and then at the second picture of Mia wrapped in a sarong looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I really embarrassed the family, didn't I?"

"Not to put too fine a point on it, yes you did. I think you're making a wise decision to abstain from the job." Inside, Clarisse wanted to tell Mia that her mistake didn't matter as much as the welfare of Genovia. Clarisse was angry, yes, but anger would subside –she didn't want to think about letting the Renaldi line do the same.

Mia looked at the floor, feeling too guilty to look at her Grandma anymore. "I suppose I won't come to the ball then." She had never messed up this badly and she just wanted to go back to her bed and hide until Clarisse left at the end of the week.

"Of course you should come, you're still family. Just because you don't want to be our princess doesn't mean we're sending you into exile. You're mother's planning to come; all your guests are invited –except for your beach friends. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting with the press in an hour to do some damage control."

Mia stood up and walked out of the room on autopilot. Clarisse was mad at her, and had every right to be. She knew she was a good girl; she had just made a stupid mistake. She hated disappointing people and she knew she had let her grandmother down. She sat down on the couch in the foyer and waited for Joe to take her to school, and struggled to keep her composure. She'd look even more lame if she started crying like a baby in front of the doorman and the desk attendant. "I'm a terrible granddaughter." She concluded to herself as she put her head in her hands.

...

"You can come in now." Clarisse called to Joseph who had been waiting outside her office.

He couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Mia and Clarisse –he was posted right outside after all. He had grown very fond of Mia since he had been spending much of his time with her. When he heard Clarisse's sharp words he knew he must try and help her to see the situation from another angle. "If I may say so, that did not go very well."

"Is this the way a princess should act?" Clarisse snapped.

"My information tells me that boy was using her. The kiss was merely a device so that he could get his fifteen minutes of fame. And her friends didn't help either…" he struggled to remember all of the names Mia had told him but found himself babbling.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Why didn't she have enough common sense to deal with this?"

"She's only fifteen!" Joseph said a little too strongly. He softened his tone before speaking again. "But today she acted beyond her years. She showed great respect, and gracefully accepted your criticism."

"You're saying that as a queen I was too harsh on her? I was critical over the person who could become the next ruler of my country." She said as she walked over to him.

"No, I'm saying that as a grandmother you might have been too harsh on your granddaughter."

Clarisse felt the lump in her throat grow considerably as her mask started to slip. His words shifted her perspective and she realized how venomously she had spoken to her beloved son's daughter. She had been rash and was starting to regret her words.

She let out a deep sigh and fought against the emotions she was feeling. She looked up into Joseph's eyes and wished she could wrap herself in his embrace. "Do you think she can do it?"

"Oh, I have no doubts, Ma'am."

"I thought so, too." She admitted sadly.

Joseph was very tempted to comfort Clarisse but firstly, the doors to her office were open, and secondly he didn't want to push her or overcrowd her. "I must take the Princess to school."

"The Princess…" She echoed quietly.

Joseph carefully reached for her hand and pressed it to his lips. "I'll be back later."

...

Clarisse thought about what she said to Mia all day and all night. She wanted Mia in her life even if she wasn't going to accept her title –she was her only granddaughter and she meant a great deal to her. She resolved to go to Mia's house after school the next day and talk to her. She had behaved badly and didn't want this encounter to ruin their relationship. She hadn't been acting much like a grandmother and it was time to start.

...

Helen answered the door to the Firehouse, her curly hair escaping from a clip and a paint covered smock on. "Clarisse. What's up? What can I do for you?"

"Is Mia home? I'm afraid I wasn't terribly understanding with her yesterday and I'd like to apologize to her."

Helen's eyes softened and she stepped aside to let Clarisse in. Mia was curled in a ball on a mat on the floor. She had her head on the floor and was unaware that Clarisse was there.

"She's doing some yoga." She told Clarisse when she looked at her quizzically. "Mia." Helen said quietly, "Clarisse is here, she wants to talk to you."

She shut off the small CD player next to her and slowly uncurled herself, blew out the candle that was next to her and stood. She took a deep breath and turned around to face her grandmother. "Hi Grandma."

"Hello. Is it alright if we talk for a bit?"

"Sure. Um… do you want something to drink? I can make you some tea."

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

...

Mia quickly made the tea and carried two large steaming mugs downstairs. She handed Clarisse hers and then sat down on the couch, tucking her legs underneath her.

"So… shoot." She said quietly.

"Well, before we get into that I have something for you." She picked up the blue velvet bag she had brought with her.

_Oh, no, another gift_. And Mia had only made a lousy cup of tea for her Grandma. "Thank you. Should I open it now?"

"Please." Mia untied the drawstring and pulled out a red journal with the Genovian crest embellishing the lock. "It's a present for your sixteenth birthday from your father. It was found among his possessions."

Mia was shocked and touched that she was receiving a last gift from her father. Even though she hadn't ever met him, she had exchanged letters with him for years and they had spoken on the phone. She missed the contact and lamented the fact that she would never meet him. She hoped that she wasn't disappointing him by not stepping up and taking her place as Princess.

After explaining the way the lock worked, Clarisse figured it was time to admit she had been wrong. She felt sincerely sorry for her actions and was relieved when Mia forgave her.

Thinking that maybe there was a fleeting chance she could change her granddaughters mind, she said what she had been thinking for the past twenty-four hours. "I've been thinking about it a great deal and the truth is, I think you'd make a very fine princess. You know, people think princesses are supposed to wear tiaras, marry the prince, always look pretty and live happily ever after… but it's so much more than that. It's a real job."

Mia hadn't thought of it that way. She so desperately wanted to help her Grandma, but she knew she couldn't. She spoke from her heart as eloquently as she could. She really did believe her grandmother to be one of the most extraordinary people she knew, next to her mother and Lilly, but this life clearly wasn't for her. She was afraid of it, as her mother had been, and she knew she would keep making mistakes and they would keep drawing attention. If she accepted her title, it wasn't just her she'd be living for anymore; it would be an entire country. How could she go from being a normal girl from California to Princess of a European country? She couldn't.

As Mia spoke, Clarisse felt her heart warm. This young and awkward girl had come so far in the past few weeks. Clarisse was very proud of her, even though she would not comply with her wishes.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their tea. Clarisse was looking at some of the paintings that were nearby. Helen was a marvelous painter, and had come so far since her years in college.

Mia was beginning to get a little uncomfortable and felt like she had to say something. "So, remember that girl I didn't get along with? Lana?"

"The one from the beach?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah, her. Well, today I stood up to her. It wasn't in the most refined way possible, but it made me feel good."

"Do I want to know?"

"There was ice cream involved. And her cheerleading uniform. She was wearing it. She was actually wearing both when I was done."

"As a queen, and your grandmother I don't condone that sort of behavior."

"I understand that. But as a fifteen-year-old, I'm not sorry." She smiled and then laughed.

...

When they had finished their tea, Mia led Clarisse to the door. As they were saying goodbye and Clarisse was giving Mia her final instructions before the ball in a few short hours, she could tell that Mia was starting to enter 'flight' mode. At the mention of making a speech to renounce her title, she started to itch and twitch and her behavior gave Clarisse a feeling of unease.

* * *

Mia hastily assured Clarisse she'd be at the ball, and her mother would be bringing her. She couldn't make a speech, though. She had to leave. She would be sick in front of diplomats and royalty. Where could she go? She had enough money saved up to get herself somewhere. She'd always wanted to go to Colorado. Colorado it was. She'd look up the next flight and be gone before the ball began. She was going to disappoint her grandmother again, and the feeling sucked. But she had to think of herself.

"I'll see you there then?" Clarisse asked. Mia hastily nodded and Clarisse started for the door.

"Grandma?" She said causing Clarisse to spin around. Mia was battling a series of guilty feelings and for a moment didn't know how to express herself. "I am sorry." She was sorry for so many things. Sorry for judging Clarisse before she met her, sorry for being so unrefined, for being a clumsy mess, for not being the ideal candidate for the job, letting everyone down and finally for the fact that she would be running away from her problems very soon.

* * *

Her soft apology tugged at Clarisse's heart. "Oh, my dear. You are first and foremost my granddaughter." _Can I hug her? Will she let me?_ Her feet moved on their own and she enveloped Mia in a big hug. A flood of emotions started bursting through her in that one move. It was startling and frightening and wonderful. She pulled back quickly when that dam started breaking, looked into Mia's face and let out a quick "Ha!" Feeling a little awkward, she left quickly calling, "Please don't be late!" over her shoulder.

_I did that rather well_. She thought to herself as she shut the door behind her.

...

Clarisse heard anxious murmurs floating from the ballroom up through her open window. As she allowed her hair and makeup to be done, she tried not to listen to the buzz of the crowd and her staff. Charlotte had come into the room to check on Clarisse and had seemed somewhat frantic. Her nerves were contagious and Clarisse suggested she go and check on the flower arrangements around the consulate, and then take care of the arriving guests for something to do. Clarisse couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she had gotten at Mia's house, but she knew the girl would be here soon. Hopefully.

As she made her way down the staircase to the crowd to begin her mingling with the guests before Mia's speech, Clarisse searched the room for Joseph. He was nowhere to be seen. She walked into the pressroom as her presence was announced to the diplomats and guests. Making small talk, she worked her way through the room to find her young assistant who was tucked in a corner of the room watching the screen of her cell phone. Charlotte looked up when the Queen approached her.

"Do we have any problems?"

"No, everything's perfect! Perfect! It's wonderful!" Charlotte stammered a little too quickly.

"You're not very good at lying, Charlotte."

"No I'm not, Your Majesty." She said looking embarrassed.

"But the garden looks beautiful." Clarisse offered, causing Charlotte to look back up from the floor and at smile gratefully.

"Oh, thank you!"

"Now, are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Uh, yes. Well, you see…" She let out a small sigh and figured out how she could best word what she had to say next. "I'm afraid that Princess Mia hasn't arrived yet. I had thought she was supposed to come with Joseph, but apparently she told you she was coming with Helen. When Helen got here, the Princess was not with her."

"Is someone going to get her?" In the back of her mind, she knew the answer, but she was hoping it would be different.

"Joseph left a while ago to go and find her, and he isn't back yet. We're doing all we can to get in touch with her now. Should I put the… things back in the safe?" The question was so heavy.

"No." She didn't want to think about that, "No, leave it out. It will be needed." _I know it will. _She added mentally to reassure herself.

...

Trying to stall for time, hoping Mia was simply held up somewhere, Clarisse asked Charlotte to have the band play and the waiters bring around more hor d'oeuvres and drinks. She put on her best Queenly Face and pressed on, spending extra time speaking to the guests and turning up the charm.

She checked back with Charlotte a while later and was told that no contact had been made with Mia or Joseph. The press needed to get their stories before it became too late in the night to make the papers in the morning. Clarisse decided that in ten minutes time, if Mia didn't show up, she would make the announcement for her.

The clock ticked by Clarisse was beginning to feel light headed. The tight bodice of her dress wasn't ideal for the deep calming breaths she was trying to take. She sat down in the hallway and began to mentally prepare herself for what was coming. When she saw Charlotte out of the corner of her eye she looked to her hopefully, but her assistants small "_No, Ma'am._" crushed her optimism.

With the Prime Minister's sad nod she started walking towards the podium. "Then it's time." She concluded simply. The podium seemed miles away from her, and she moved on autopilot. The guests began to fill the pressroom and respectfully waited for her to begin. Clarisse hadn't felt so sick since The Corn Dog Incident, and she wrung her hands together, thankful she was wearing gloves to combat the clamminess.

She scanned the crowd, though who or what she was looking for she didn't quite know. Her eyes met Helen's and the woman looked at her with a mixture of sympathy and encouragement.

Clarisse began to speak, first welcoming the guests and then apologizing for the delay. For the first time in a long time she felt like she had no idea what to say to these people. Here they were, hoping for the news that this small country was going to be crowning a new heir to the throne, and she would deliver the horrible news that Genovia would soon be under the Von Troken rule. That would make nobody but the Baron and the Baroness happy. She felt herself being repetitive and feared she would soon lose the crowd. She was grasping at straws, hoping with all her heart that Mia would come, but she supposed it was time to just bite the bullet and do what had to be done.

"I have an announcement to make… my granddaughter-" A small cough from the makeshift wings caught her attention and she turned to see Mia, smiling timidly at her and dripping wet from head to toe. Clarisse could have cared less what she was wearing, she was just thankful that she had shown up. "I would like to announce that my granddaughter has arrived. With a fascinating explanation as to her wardrobe, I'm sure." The murmur rose up through the crowd as some of them saw the princess for the first time. She certainly knew how to make an impression. With Clarisse's encouragement, Mia hesitantly began a speech.

It started off full of nerves, and Clarisse wondered if she'd make it through. As she got more comfortable up in front of everyone, she started to ramble. A quick reminder from Clarisse and she was back on track again. With the way she was talking it almost seemed like she had reconsidered her decision. Could it be?

"So this morning when I woke up, I was Mia Thermopolis. But now…" Clarisse felt tears welling up, anticipating what would be said next, "I choose to be forever more Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi, Princess of Genovia." Clarisse didn't hear the crowd cheering as she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She was beside herself with joy and didn't even know what she was saying as she placed her tiara on Mia's wet head. She only knew that when the Prime Minister introduced the two, she felt her heart might burst. The night was going to be a happy one after all.

...

Dried off, made up and in her ball gown, Mia met Clarisse just outside the ballroom. The podium had been cleared away and the guests were all waiting for their entrance.

"You look simply lovely, dear."

"Thanks, Grandma. And you look awesome! That dress is really pretty. I'm sorry for showing up late. But, better late than never, right?"

"Absolutely." Clarisse smiled. She extended her hand to Mia "Are you ready to go in?"

"Yes." Mia said and they entered the room together.

Mia should have known they were going to bow to her, but the motion still caught her off guard. It was a little thrilling at the same time, knowing that these people would one day look to her as their leader. She saw Lilly smiling brilliantly at her from the crowd. And she saw her mom, looking great. There was one person missing, and she hoped she'd see him.

Clarisse began the first dance with the Prime Minister, while Mia waited to select a dance partner.

He squeezed her hand "What a night." He said with a laugh. "She'll be a wonderful princess."

"I have faith in her. She's a smart girl and has the biggest heart. Thank you so much for helping her at the dinner the other night, Sebastian."

He laughed heartily again, "Not a problem! Not a problem at all –oh, look. Is that her boyfriend?"

Clarisse looked over at Mia who had begun to dance with a boy who she had never seen. She assumed that was Michael. "No he isn't. Though I think they both are hoping for something more than friendship."

As if on cue, Joseph crossed the floor and tapped on Sebastian's shoulder. "May I?" The Prime Minister thanked Clarisse for the dance and went to find his wife. Clarisse felt relaxed in his arms and looked deeply into his eyes.

"Thank you, Joseph." She had so much to thank him for, and she hoped that she could express her immense gratitude somehow.

"It's always a pleasure, Madame." He began steering them towards the doors leading out toward the garden. He wanted to have a few minutes alone with her, and he suspected she wouldn't object.

"Where is she going?" Clarisse asked, looking at Mia and Michael who had stopped dancing and were walking towards the garden.

_Damn._ He thought. "Well, perhaps they are going out for a breath of fresh air. And maybe a little more." He said this jokingly, but was trying to gauge her reaction as well.

"Oh, Joseph." She smiled, "I suppose she deserves it after all."

"Indeed. Smart boy, Michael, he had the same idea I had, but now the garden is occupado." Clarisse laughed, but also felt butterflies in her stomach.

"If you were thinking about taking me out into that garden, I certainly wouldn't object." Her words made Joseph's heart leapt. "Perhaps sometime later this evening?"

"I'd like nothing more." He said as he stopped their dance, twirled her, and watched as she was swept into another waiting partner's arms.

_Later_.

...

Mia and Michael returned to the ballroom a while later and they both shyly looked at each other before starting to dance again. Michael couldn't believe that he had kissed Mia and was looking forward to spending a summer with her. He patiently waited to the side while she danced with other guests who wanted to meet the young Princess.

When she finally made his way back to him she smiled. "We need some better music, don't you think?"

"I'll say! This music is pretty, but it's putting me to sleep!" Lilly interrupted. "Go and see if you can get something more upbeat, Princess. We're dying over here!" She laughed.

Clarisse was more than relieved when the music changed. Beautiful though dancing was, it was tiring to keep changing partners and styles. The younger crowd began to take over the dance floor and she thought that now might be a good time to sneak away. She found Joseph in the crowd and motioned for the door.

"Would you mind escorting me to my room?" She asked hopefully.

"I would love nothing more. Shall we?" No one noticed the couple slip away together. Joseph waved the doormen away, and Clarisse's breath caught in her throat as he took her hand in his and kissed it. Looping her arm though his, they quietly walked upstairs, tension building between them.


End file.
